Rebuilding
by harsens-rob
Summary: Spanderverse Story 25: The gang deals with the month after Buffy's death as they struggle to continue on. A mistake from Spike's past comes back to victimize Dawn. Rupert Giles begins to slide into the dark territory of 'Ripper'.
1. The Guilt Afterward

Disclaimer: Legal stuff, don't own characters, haven't made any money, this is for entertainment purposes, no profit earned, lawyers go away. –_kisses-_

**Emails are welcome as are honest reviews. I respond to all correspondence.**

Spoiler Alert: There are tidbits from past BTVS episodes and _especially_ the Spanderverse series of stories.

Notes: Story number Twenty-Six in the Spanderverse-universe, following "_Spanderverse: Points of View, Four"._

Everything from the television series through the defeat of Adam also occurred as depicted, in the Spanderverse.

People's thoughts are depicted in _italics_. You'll find emphasis depicted with an underline.

Thanks to the authors of Fanfiction, wherever you may post. It's probable that I've read at least one of your stories somewhere. I apologize for recycling concepts inadvertently from the plentitude of stories I've read.

**Last Note re: Angel timeline: **Again, Angel's timeline is a bit skewed. Consider the Angel team in Pylea at the beginning on this story, despite the fact that it's about a month early in the year for that adventure according to ATS' production.

**WARNING: **Adult language and disturbing sexual content ahead. This story starts to curve close to Dark!Fic territory in later chapters.

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**Rebuilding**

Ch 1 – The Guilt Afterward

**Spike sat in the upstairs hallway of the Summers' home… Dawn's home. He was outside of the Half-Pint's bedroom door, back against the wall and listening for the slightest signs of distress from within. His butt was half-numb and half-aching with the desire for him to get up and move around, but he found himself rooted to the carpeting. His ribs ached with icy fire as they continued to knit themselves together using the pig's blood that Xander had retrieved and placed in the refrigerator downstairs earlier. There was a pint left for the morning before the vampire himself had to turn in to rest.**

**Xander was back at the apartment he shared with Anya. He hadn't protested when Spike told him that he'd be staying with Dawn overnight. He'd just nodded his head without comment and left the house, looking exhausted and swollen-eyed and still in a bit of a shock over what they'd lost. It was Tuesday, April 3rd, 2001. **

**Buffy was even now decaying away in the ground. They'd gathered around her hidden grave protected by thorns and brambles and Tara's witchy, holy-water-boosted incantations. It had been less than a full day since she'd jumped from that tower and less than five hours since her midnight burial. **

**Spike wiped his eyes of the tears that threatened to fall. There was no more time for grief; now was the time for Dawn, not himself. Besides, Buffy wouldn't want his heartache… she'd even now be berating him if she were here in spirit. Telling him that she'd done what she needed to do to protect her sister, and he should stop acting like a pansy and get to keeping his promise to take over guarding her. Or so he told himself harshly; it helped to stop up the feelings of failure that threatened to overpower him at any moment. Buffy had jumped because he had failed. His mind drifted back to early yesterday morning.**

'_**I blew it', **_**he'd thought with anger as his feet left the platform**__

_**The stupid Glory-dwarf was standing right there and all he'd had to do was dash forward and push the punter right off the pier jutting from the shaky tower. Instead he'd acted as he always did… full of bravado and without a lick of sense. 'Get the hell away from her', he'd yelled.**_

**Or something like that; the point being that he'd given the little goblin all the time in the world to act. She'd cast an incantation that had floated Spike up off of the walkway and over empty space with the unyielding ground far below and had dropped him, leaving the Little Bit to be victimized unstopped. And because of that, because of his big, stupid mouth, Dawn had been sliced open and the ritual started. Because of him, Buffy had to throw her life away. **

**Coming back to the here and now, he thought: **_**Maybe she would have died soon anyway, being what she was. But maybe she'd have lived to have kids of her own. She had us… there was no reason she couldn't have lived far beyond the usual Slayer expiration date. If only a certain vampire to remain nameless hadn't fucked up so badly….**_

**Dawn's door surprised him by opening and he glanced at the occupant staring out at him with haunted eyes. She gave him the smallest of smiles and started down the hallway. When Spike went to stand up, she'd put her hand out, motioning him to remain where he was.**

"**I just have to go to the bathroom," she whispered. "It's just part of my routine this time of night," she shrugged before continuing down the hallway. **

**After Dawn had made her way into the room down the hall and clicked the door shut, Willow's head poked out of Joyce's room. It was where she and the White Witch were camping out.**

**Spike met her concerned eyes, but he waved her back into the room and its night stand light softly pooling beyond. "She's just going to the restroom," he said quietly.**

**Willow gave him a quick nod and retreated back into the bedroom. She left the door cracked open and Spike could hear her get back into the bed. As she settled back under the blankets, he could pick out the deep, heavy breathing of Tara. **

_**At least one of my mortals is getting some sleep, **_**he thought before his mind turned back to Xander. He didn't need to be human himself to realize that Xan probably needed somebody too, and it should have been him. But he'd promised Buffy… Dawn had to be his life now. Surely Xan would realize that and approve even if it made their new relationship a bit of a try. **

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**In the bathroom, Dawn flushed and stood up to look into the mirror. Her eyes met her counterpart in the glass and she could see dark circles. There was an emptiness there that scared her a little. She hadn't realized how badly she looked and she thought of Spike in the hallway, watching her, probably listening even now as she turned on the sink to wash her hands and face. It was awkward with the broken finger taped up and she tried her hardest to keep the bandaging dry. At least it was only dully aching now, instead of the sharp throbbing it had been doing for most of the previous day. She thought of Buffy and her mom and bit her lower lip to keep from sobbing. She didn't want to worry Spike anymore than he already was. In the bathroom cabinet behind the sink's mirror she pulled out a bottle of sleeping tablets and swallowed two with a Dixie cup of water.**

**As she placed the bottle back in the cabinet, she eyed the razor there. It was just a Bic disposable that Buffy probably used in the tub to shave her legs and under her arms. It wasn't particularly dangerous since the blades were designed to not cut a woman while she shaved… that was even one of its selling points in the commercials.**

**Dawn reached out to the razor and felt its cheap plastic handle in her hand. Her eyes stared, fascinated, at the thin edge of the metal blade as the bathroom light glinted off of it. She remembered the night of her mother's funeral when she'd sliced her arm using a knife. She'd needed to prove to herself that she was human, that she wasn't the stupid Key that Glory wanted; just some 'thing' that needed the Slayer to guard over. **

**It turned out that both were true. Dawn pulled up the sleeve of the sleeping shirt she was dressed in. It was pink and white with a Ms. Piggy smiling broadly. On the back, in pink lettering were the words, 'Who wants a prince when my frog is all I need?' **

**With the sleeve out of the way, she could see the thin white line that the wound had left behind afterward. Her eyes returned to the razor for several seconds before, disturbed, she returned it to the cabinet. She shut the door on it and turned off the water from the sink.**

**Shaking a little, she left the bathroom and upon returning, bent down to kiss Spike on the forehead. **

"**Thanks for staying, Spike," she whispered before re-entering her room where she tossed and turned with nightmares involving her sister telling her she'd gotten her killed and images of razors against skin.**

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**It was also a restless night over at Xander's apartment.**

**Anya had given up on sleep earlier and had sat in a hot tub of water at around two o'clock, but now, at four-thirty she was in deep slumber. In her nightmares, she was back outside of the Magic Box and Glory's hand was pressing so hard into her face. Her teeth were cracking under the strain and she could feel Glory's fingers wriggling in her brain. **

**Her own nerveless fingers were clutching at her pillow and a steady stream of 'no' and 'stop' were slurred from her sleeping form. Tears wetted her pillow but she was far too exhausted to wake.**

**Xander had finally fallen asleep at a quarter to four. Now he, or at least his body, was pacing in the guest bathroom. When eyes glanced at the reflected image in the mirror they shined with a golden hue that Xan would not have recognized as his own shade.**

**Hyena-Xander was wound up tight with worry and dread over the coming confrontation. She'd lost control of herself during the fight with Glory's minions, she knew that. It was worrying, but not nearly as bad as the human was making it out to be. Spike just grabbed a hold of her (**_**of Xan**_**) at the wrong time that was all. She would have snapped out of her battle fugue on her own once the immediate threat to the vampire posed by the entranced Glory victims had passed. And besides, what she'd done was to keep his stupid body in one piece, too. Human-Xander was just being a whiner.**

**Still, her new mate was smart. He'd known immediately something was wrong with her counterpart. It was just the more pressing issue of Dawn's rescue that kept things from coming to a head right then and there. It was only a matter of time… days maybe, before Spike asked Xander about what had happened on the battlefield. And though she might be able to hold his tongue, even without Commando's help, it didn't seem to have a point. Xander was going to spill everything to the vampire about her presence and she couldn't be sure how Spike would react. She needed to seduce the vampire to her viewpoint, that she was good for both of them. That the human and she were better together than the boy would be on his own, at least until such time as she could remove the human from their shared mindspace, just as she had Commando. The important thing was to show the vampire what she could do for him… both in the bedroom and in leading the Scooby Gang.**

**Spike was strong and capable and she'd wanted him to be her mate since she'd arrived, but he seemed infatuated with her weaker counterpart, probably because he was more of an Alpha male than Xander was. Well, there was no reason an Alpha Male and an Alpha Female couldn't work together, never mind the gender she currently inhabited. But she'd have to play this seductively until she was sure that she had Spike around her finger. She didn't know what would happen if Willow and Giles decided to attempt to 'exorcise' her. She wasn't magic-oriented and the amount of knowledge she could pull from Xan on the subject could fit into a shot glass, even after all his time evil-fighting. **

**She could only hope that killing off the usually cooperative Commando wasn't going to come back and bite her in her own ass now.**

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**Steam rose up in the decently-sized, white tiled bathroom. On the floor near the tub sat two small bottles of scotch. One was empty. The other was a quarter of the way down from where it had been only an hour before.**

**In the hot water, Giles soaked, quite drunk. One of his legs was propped up on the porcelain side of the bath tub, keeping his ankle cast from getting wet. A cold rag was pressed over his eyes and a glass of long ago melted ice and a small amount of liquor was held tightly in one hand.**

**His mind, fogged as it was, was working on what he was going to report to the Council. Obviously, Buffy's death was not to be relayed to them under any circumstances. He could only hope that Willow was able to repair the robot enough for it to act the part of the Slayer, should it become necessary. Excluding that, they could only hope that Detective Stein was able to locate this Warren person who'd originally built it. It was really quite impressive and a bit frightening to know that someone had been able to build such a caricature of his Slayer (**_**ex-Slayer, Giles, ex-Slayer)**_** and it could help immensely to have such a brilliant young man on their side in the coming days.**

**He would need to speak to the others, of course. Get their recollections down on paper so that he could go about constructing a narrative that would make sense regarding the battle with Glory and her defeat. Not to mention the Key's 'destruction' in the aftermath. Giles knew Quentin very well. If the Council found out that Dawn was still the Key, even if not active currently, he would have a team come in and take her away from them. She'd end up at the Council or, more likely, one of their hidden safe-houses. She'd be completely cut off from the outside world, including all of them, and be reduced to a test rat. He wouldn't allow that to happen even over his dead body. That wasn't why Buffy sacrificed herself and he would do all in his power and beyond to see to it that Dawn remained shielded from anyone who would wish to exploit or study her.**

**He stretched forward, a tricky business with the cast, and pulled the plug on his bath. Only when the tub was nearly empty did he finish the last sips of his watered down drink and struggle out of the tub to dry off. **

**Later, as he lay his head down in the guest room (it was too difficult going up and down the stairs with the cast and crutches) and saw the time was five-fifteen, he started to think about Dawn's financial upkeep and the destruction of the Magic Box. One of the first things that the new, repaired (**_**hopefully**_**) Buffybot would need to do is learn to forge Buffy's signature. They were going to need that Council stipend he'd demanded in order to retain Joyce's house for Dawn.**

**Giles passed out shortly after these thoughts, dreaming of his Slayer winning against Glory. Dreaming of himself saving her. And dreaming of his sacrificing Dawn in Buffy's place, and her hatred and anger in the face of finding out what he'd done.**

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**Earlier that night, Detective Stein had driven his car near the Summers' residence and slowed down, but hadn't stopped. He'd had lots on his mind, not least of which were the new facts that he'd learned about his world. Carole was much more prepared, just through growing up in Sunnydale, than he in accepting and accommodating these things into her worldview. She was so much more adaptable than he was and now he had to continue trying to be a detective with the knowledge that there were things out there that had nothing to do with human crime.**

**He'd stepped on the accelerator and headed, again, for the site of the 'funnel cloud'. There were several bodies found by his fellow officers at the site of the new construction on Sixth and Iris and he'd inherited the cases from the second shift. Not that it was considered a crime scene, as it appeared they'd been killed by falling debris, but it was unusual since many of the victims were being confined in Sunnydale General's sixth floor mental ward very recently. And there was a crime scene there involving two nurses and a security guard, all stabbed to death. **

"_**I'll have to talk to Mr. Giles about that,**_**" he realized. **_**"He can probably explain why those people died."**_

**He thought about the young lady he'd investigated more than once. About how brave she must have been to face things like that Spike character. What must it have been like for her to constantly fight off such monsters and not be able to tell anyone or go to the authorities for help? If only they'd come to him before things happened the way they did, maybe he could have found a way to help them. Maybe she wouldn't have had to die.**

**Rick was determined to help them now. He'd been a detective in Sunnydale for nearly four years and it was only now that he felt like he could truly make a difference. Helping this 'Scooby-Doo Club' or whatever they called themselves would help him feel more connected to what was going on around him and maybe with his help and city government connections and resources he could make sure that none of the other young men and women died. He'd have to talk to Carole, too. He knew she'd want to help as soon as possible with whatever they needed, but he didn't want her putting herself in danger. He didn't think he could survive it if she went out and got herself killed the way that Buffy Summers had.**

**When he reached the site, he found city workers busily taking down the hazard that had been thrown together on the site. A huge and hastily constructed tower of swaying metal and wood that didn't look like it could stand for long if left to itself. Ambulances were still on site with attendants zipping up the last few bodies to be removed. As he approached, a uniformed man with a rifle slung checked his credentials. The Sunnydale Army Base had been called to dispatch troops in order to keep the peace and encourage the citizenry to remain indoors during the clean up operations. The Mayor had already ordered that the entire city was to be placed under a curfew at nightfall for the next three nights to ensure there'd be no looting or vandalism. He was also going to issue a release to the local morning news team asking businesses to remain closed today and tomorrow and for people to stay off the streets as much as possible.**

**As he stopped his car and before exiting it to join the throng of official activity, he pulled in a deep breath. He wondered how he could go on functioning side by side with his colleagues and bosses when only he knew what had really happened and what he'd find happening in the future. He let out his breath in a long sigh and went to work.**

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End Chapter 1


	2. The Day after Death Visits

**Rebuilding**

Ch 2 – The Day after Death Visits

**Willow rolled over to look at the clock next to Tara on Joyce's nightstand. It read 07:15 and she sighed, feeling like she hadn't slept all night.**

**She picked up the ball of fur tucked against her, receiving an annoyed mew and a glare at her for the disturbance. She set down Miss Kitty in her vacated warm spot and the cat quickly made itself comfortable again, but not before giving her an irritated twitch of its tail. Stumbling out of bed, she took herself into Joyce's bathroom and started the shower heating up. She had so much work to do today. First and foremost was getting the Buffy robot repaired, followed by the Faithbot. **

**Will caught her reflection in the mirror above the vanity and the deep well of sadness reflected there brought on another bout of tears. She couldn't believe that her best friend, Buffy, was dead. It was inconceivable, after all they'd gone through that it could really be over for her. She wiped at her eyes and blew her nose before stepping under the hot spray, but the tears kept coming as she washed her hair.**

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**Xander stumbled out of the bedroom when he heard the phone ringing from the kitchen. As he reached for it, Anya poked her head out of her own bedroom. Her eyes reflected the same dread he felt. They were all waiting for another piece of bad news; as if losing Buffy weren't quite enough already.**

"**Yeah," he said reluctantly.**

"**Xander? Thank goodness you're okay! How's your family? Is everyone alright?"**

"**Joe? God, Joe! What time is it? I'm sorry… I should have been to the site by now!"**

"**Xander, it's okay! I'm not calling about the site… we've closed down for the day. Haven't you heard the morning news?"**

"**No… ah… I've slept in this morning," Xander said, glancing toward Anya to find that she'd disappeared and her bedroom door was closed again. He felt briefly that he was still in a dream… who cared about this mundane life stuff after what had happened!**

"**Oh, well, the Mayor has pretty much shut down the town for today and tomorrow. The National Guard or Army or something is crawling all over the place. I was just calling to make sure you didn't get caught up in yesterday's storms."**

"**Oh, ah… no. I'm fine **_**(ignoring the fact that I'm dead inside)**_**. I- uh – I heard we had a tornado or something?"**

"**Yeah, some real mess from what I heard," Joe replied. "Thank the saints it hit those asses on that strip mall project. The Coens must be shitting them selves about now. I took a spin by our site and it looks like we're a-okay."**

"**W-well, uh, that's good. I'm surprised you shut down the site though. Isn't Greeley going to be on the phone bitching about the delay?" **

**Charles Greeley was the developer on the new mall and had been complaining since the first day of the project, this before they'd managed to fall behind. The mall project was supposed to be finished by the first of April, but with Sunnydale's madness, that hadn't quite happened. They were looking at the end of June now and Greeley was throwing daily fits.**

"**Screw him. The Mayor says stay indoors and guys are trotting around with rifles? We stay indoors. Listen, though, you should call your crewmen. Let 'em know you're concerned about their families… it's good for the boss not to come off as bein' cold, you know?"**

"**Yeah, Joe, yeah… I hear you. How did you weather things," Xan asked, but really he just wanted to hang up and crawl back under his blankets. Being awake allowed him to remember that Buffy wouldn't be waiting for him at her house. She wouldn't be punning and laughing during the next Scooby meeting. It hurt almost enough to stop his breath.**

"**Ah, the damned shed out back blew over and damaged the lawn mower, but otherwise we're good. Listen though, I gotta call and break the news of the delay to Greeley so I'll see you back onsite in a few days."**

"**Yeah… thanks for calling, Joe." **

**Xander hung up the phone and rested his head against the wall. When they'd started running from Glory, they didn't tell anyone they were going. Joe didn't know that he was going to just disappear and leave the job half done and without a crew chief. **

_**Guess I still got a job… now all I have to do is find a way to pretend I care.**_

**He gave a glance to Anya's door before starting to fill the coffee pot with water to drip brew. As he watched the dark brown liquid drip through, he stared at the phone. He wanted to call over to Buffy's… to Dawn's, he reminded himself, and check on the others, but he didn't want them to be awoken if they were safely asleep. Opening one's eyes today was not of the good.**

**Once he'd fixed a cup of coffee, he strolled out onto the veranda and looked over Sunnydale; or as much as he could see, anyway. The sun was shining brightly with just an inkling of a morning chill. He thought about Spike, hoping that the vampire had turned in. Knowing him, he was probably going to try to pull a 24-hour day to keep Dawn company and vampires weren't at their best when they didn't get some sleep sometime during the sunlit hours. **

**Again, he thought of calling over to the Summers', just to put his mind at ease that everyone was still safe. Instead, he sat on one of the veranda chairs and thought about what the hell they were supposed to do without the Slayer. He didn't know if continuing the Scoobies was worth it without Buffy to follow.**

**He was pleasantly surprised by the lack of a remark from Hyena.**

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**Willow left the bedroom, shutting the door with a quiet click. Behind the door, Tara was still sleeping fitfully, her broken hand moving restlessly across the bedspread. Miss Kitty was now lying on her pillow and had glanced at her as she left the room; she appeared to still be annoyed at being disturbed in the first place. Across from the bed on the dresser, Amy-rat had rustled in her cage, but hadn't poked her head out from under the ripped newspaper that lined her home.**

**When she turned she found Spike still sitting in the hallway, exactly where he'd been earlier that morning. She glanced nervously at the sunlight out of the (broken) hallway window. She simultaneously realized that she'd have to talk to Xander about fixing that and that there was no way any but indirect light was going to make it to Spike. He was safe where he was.**

**Walking toward him, she found herself staring into eyes that seemed caught in between his usual shade of blue and the golden-yellow that appeared when he was in game face. Otherwise, he looked placidly at her.**

_**He doesn't even have puffy and red eyes, **_**she sighed. **_**Vampires have all the luck.**_

**Willow had gotten a good look at herself while brushing out her hair and had decided she looked like hell. Her skin was pale, the eyes looking exactly as Spike's should have if he had any decency at all and her body ached from a restless night of tossing and turning.**

"**Red," she heard Spike say questioningly.**

"**Sorry," she shook her head. "I'm still tired out and my mind was drifting. Is that coffee I smell from downstairs?"**

"**Heard the shower running," he shrugged. "Thought whichever of you it was, you might want some caffeine."**

"**Thanks, Spike. I've got a lot of work to do in the basement on Bu-, um, on the robots. You should turn in… morning has broke, you know."**

"**I'll wait for Dawn to get up. I can crash in her bed."**

"**Oh, uh, B-Buffy's is… uh…."**

"**I'll wait for the Bit's bed to open up," Spike said, looking quickly away. "You should get some coffee while it's fresh."**

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**Giles stood in his far too bright bathroom glaring at himself in the mirror. He'd had too much to drink this morning before finally passing out and he was paying for it now. The sunlight coming in the small bathroom window was reflecting painfully off the white tiles around him, dazzling his eyes and making his head pound.**

**His drunken dreams had been full of darkness and death and wild laughter in the face of Buffy's disappointed face. He could have sworn he'd seen Ben a time or two as well.**

**He placed his hands on the sink and quickly turned the cold water on, just before puking into the basin. The remembrance of dream-Buffy reminded him all too painfully (as if he could forget for even a moment) that he'd failed to prepare her adequately. She'd died. She'd died like all of the other Slayers who had come before her and this time there was no one to bring her back like after the Master had drowned her.**

**Again, vomit splashed into the sink and was quickly washed down the drain. His eyes were filled with tears and he couldn't say if it was because of his physical condition or his emotional. **

**From elsewhere in the apartment, the bedroom and living room phones were ringing. He chose to ignore them. The last thing he wanted right now was to speak to anyone. He idly noted that his hands were shaking where they gripped the sink and with at least a temporary lull in his stomach's evacuation, he splashed cold water over his face. Looking up to meet his own eyes in the mirror, he saw immense guilt and sorrow and quickly looked away. The Rupert Giles in the mirror looked like a broken man and he didn't have time to be. Dawn would need him. The Hellmouth would need him to carry on. **

**He thought of all of the platitudes the Council had spoken when earlier Watchers had lost their Slayers. 'She was very brave and did her duty', 'You performed quite well… mustn't think of this as a failure', 'Good job old man, a pity that she didn't last longer but that was certainly no fault of yours. Good show'.**

**He tried to think back whether he had allowed such utter rot to pass his lips when meeting the very few Watchers who had returned to the Council following their Slayers' deaths. He'd met two from Slayers killed in the line of duty during the 1980's, but he couldn't recall now if he'd offered such ridiculous sentiments or not. **

**Well, how could he have known that a part of you died when you saw your young woman lying broken and fulfilling her role?**

**Giles leaned over the sink and tried vomiting again. When he could stop his dry heaves, he changed the bandage on his head from a flying brick he'd taken during the battle. **

**Finally, he had finished in the restroom and he hopped to the bedroom while keeping his weight off of his broken ankle, a small glass of water sloshing in one hand. He began to look over his journals again. He'd piled them on the bed last night before his bath, but had gotten too drunk to read through them. Now he opened the first one and began to skim, trying to find where he'd gone wrong… what he had failed to teach Buffy when she had needed it most. It was hard making out his own handwriting through the tears in his eyes.**

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**Late morning in the Summers' kitchen found Tara making waffles. Arrayed around her were a very quiet Xander and Anya. Dawn was sitting at the island working on a book report that was due when classes resumed. They were all being asked to remain at home by the Mayor of Sunnydale for the next two days and Tara had already planned to take the rest of the week off to stay with the last Summers girl. Dawn would have to go back on Monday, unfortunately, as well as her and Willow getting back to the UC Sunnydale campus. They still had to complete the current term and they were all behind due to Glory. It was unfair to Dawn, but she seemed to understand that as long as everyone had to think of Buffy as alive and well, she had to play her part that everything was okay, even if it wasn't.**

**Spike was currently upstairs, hopefully sleeping. Willow had told her that he'd spent the entire night sitting in the hallway watching over Dawn's room. It made Tara sad to think he'd sat there all night grieving with no company. The red head was currently working in the basement trying to reattach the Buffy robot's head.**

"**Dawnie, could you call Willow downstairs and tell her we're ready to eat, please?"**

"**Sure. But… I'm not really hungry, Tara," Dawn said.**

"**I know, Sweetie. But we all need to eat," she sighed, glancing at Anya and Xander who both still looked shell-shocked and exhausted.**

"**Xan? Why don't you call Giles again? See if he'd like to join us for breakfast," she asked.**

"**Uh… sure. Yeah… okay," he sounded distracted and numb.**

**When Willow came upstairs, she looked bleary and red eyed. She took a single waffle without argument, but only picked at it, preferring to stick with her fourth cup of coffee.**

"**How are you, Dawnie…; I mean, the stitches," Willow clarified. She already knew how all of them 'were' were. She was sure they were all the same as her; devastated and trying not to lose their collective minds.**

"**I'm okay." **

**Dawn took a bite of waffle, but even with the extra syrup, it tasted as bland as ashes and she had to work hard to choke it down. Everything felt so pointless. Eating felt so pointless, but Buffy wanted her to live and living meant eating so she would.**

"**Willow, I want to see you eat that whole thing," Tara said gently. "And you're having some toast. We are all eating something," she added as she glanced around the room trying to approximate Willow's famous resolve-face.**

"**I can't stop thinking about…" Anya started, before stopping herself. "I mean… I'm sorry. Is it inappropriate to talk about it, yet?"**

"**No," Xan said as he placed a comforting hand on the back of her shoulder. "We're all thinking about it… replaying it in our heads… trying to see what we could have done differently."**

"**I should have jumped. I had the chance before she grabbed me, but I didn't do it," Dawn whispered, a single tear falling.**

"**No, Dawnie! No," Tara came around and hugged her from behind. "That wouldn't have made anything any better and Buffy knew what she was doing. She felt it was worth saving all of us."**

**Dawn turned and threw her arms around Tara; the breakfast completely forgotten now. **

"**She was so brave, Tara! She said she wasn't afraid and I believed her. She wasn't afraid… she was so sure; so strong," she stopped talking as the tears became too fierce.**

**While Xander and Anya looked away Willow chose the moment to sneak off back to the basement.**

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End Ch 2


	3. Night Three

**Rebuilding**

Ch 3 – Night Three

**Spike stood in the graveyard in violation of the Mayor's curfew. He listened to the night sounds around him, not really searching for anything in particular but just feeling a part of the darkness. The insects chirped and sang and there was a stiff breeze rustling the trees and blades of grass.**

**He turned his eyes downward to the gravestone at his feet. In his hands he stroked the well worn wood of the stake he held.**

"**Need to take this with me, Joyce. The ground's men would only pick it up and throw it into a box in a storage shed, anyway," he twirled Mr. Pointy around in his hands. **

"**Buffy wanted you to know that she was being the Bit's big sis, the way you wanted. I want you to know that she was… right up to the end, she was. I don't know if you and her can meet where you are now; no surprise, but I don't have a lot of experience with Heaven. But if you can hear me, either of you, I want you to know that Dawn is safe. I've got her. I'm not letting anything happen to her. If, uh, if the Slayer is there, just let her know I remember my promise. Both of them… I'm, uh, going to go to L.A. in a bit. I just have to say good bye to Xan, first. We all miss you, Joyce.**

**I tried to fix myself a cup of chocolate… you know, with those marshmallows," he laughed a small laugh. "It wasn't the same. Guess it wasn't so much about the cuppa and more about the company, eh? Anyway… Dawn is safe. She's going to stay safe. You have my word on it."**

**Spike angrily shook off the feelings of remorse he'd felt since he'd seen Buffy's body lying below Glory's tower. He stalked off for his own cemetery; he wanted to collect the things that mattered and take 'em to the house. He hadn't planned on moving in with the humans and abandoning the crypt. But they all seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement that he needed to be close, so he was splitting his time between Dawn's and Xander's, wishing they would all just live in the same place so no one would ever be out of his eyesight again.**

**Taking the most indirect routes to avoid the gun-happy Riley-wannabes running around town made things take longer than he'd wanted, but finally he arrived. Pushing open the mausoleum door, he entered the quiet resting place. When he'd made it well inside he stopped, listening in that supernaturally still way a vampire had. When he heard no signs of occupation since his absence he crossed to the rough stairway down into his, now former, living space…**

…**And stopped short, his brow furrowing into the game face. Around him lay destruction. In the middle of his queen sized bed was a dark scorch mark where a fire had been set. At his feet lay pages and when he bent to look at them, he recognized part of Shakespeare's Hamlet soliloquy. The shelf that held some candles and knick-knacks was lying on its face, small bits of broken detritus surrounding it.**

**He stepped further into his quarters, his eyes burning with anger. The crates that had held his photo of Buffy and her family on top were strewn about mostly smashed into pieces. The end table he'd been able to scrounge and had used to hold his cigarettes and lighters was also broken pieces. The photos of Xander and Buffy with her family were torn into tatters and scattered across the floor.**

**Spike spun around and surveyed the rest of the damage, a fierce growl parting his lips. He wanted to sink his fangs into the assholes that had done this, but there was no one nearby that he could detect. There were old smells, but he wasn't able to sift through them all. He could detect himself, of course, and there was Harmony, Dru… and Buffy. **

**His face morphed back instantly to his human face as he concentrated on the Slayer's scent. Anytime she'd come here, it was never very pleasant, but despite that, smelling her now caused him to miss her afresh. Sighing, he began to move his possessions around, looking for anything that could still be salvaged. His Keats book had been lit on fire and the other poetry book he hadn't finished with yet was missing entirely. The dresser of clothes was tipped over and when he righted it, he found most of the pants torn apart at the crotch and the T-shirts ripped to shreds on the floor. It seemed that only his socks held no fun for whoever had partied here. Glancing on the wall above the dresser, another piece of the puzzle caught his attention. Etched clumsily into the stone wall was, 'TRAITOR'.**

**Spike looked at the mess and waved his hands at it in dismissal. None of it mattered anyway. They were just things and he'd steal replacements of what he needed. The important thing was that he had been accepted into a family again, one that included Dawn and Xander. Whoever thought they were hurting him by trashing this hole in the ground were idiots. And as for being a 'traitor', well, he'd already decided he could live with it when he'd started watching out for Buffy, Joyce and Dawn.**

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**Thirty minutes later, he was waiting with Xander at the railroad station. The town was closed up tighter than a turtle's ass in water, but the curfew didn't affect anyone that was traveling through, only those that were loitering. They'd been stopped already twice by soldiers asking their business, but no one had given them a hard time about driving around after dark to get to the station.**

**Xander was still just as thankful that the curfew was supposed to end tomorrow. He wasn't particular comforted by the soldiers in town 'watching over them'. The sooner things quieted down, the faster they could get back to demon-watch. Now his hand reached out and took Spike's as they waited for the train to L.A. to stop.**

"**You'll be careful while I'm gone," Spike more commanded than asked. "Don't start the whole patrolling, saving the world shit until I get back. And watch Dawn… I don't know what's going on in her mind yet and I don't like how she's still blaming herself for Buffy's death."**

"**Quit worrying," Xander told him for the fourth time that night. "You just be careful. I don't want you starting a war with the L.A. crew. You go, you drop off the stuff and you leave… got it? No muss, no fuss."**

"**When I get back, you and I need to talk."**

"**About what," Xan asked nervously. They'd barely gotten together, what could they have to discuss already?**

"**The battle. You… were different. And your scent has been wrong for I don't even know how long now. I don't know why it kept slipping my mind to find out what's going on but now that you're my guy, no more secrets."**

**Xander felt Hyena quiver inside and felt an instant of mean-spirited satisfaction. **_**Game over, you nutty bitch.**_

_**You think so? Who's Spike going to want to be with… me who can hold her own, or the helpless anchor, the Zeppo?**_

"**I'll tell you everything when you get back," Xander said with emphasis. "Assuming you don't make Captain Forehead stake you while you're there."**

"**Quit worrying, Xan."**

**Both of them heard a train whistle blaring out into the night as it approached the town of Sunnydale. In the distance, a white circle from the train's light could just be made out.**

"**Guess this is it," Xan said as he watched it racing toward them. "How long do you think you'll be?"**

"**Be back by tomorrow night, Saturday at the latest. Having to see Peaches again doesn't mean I want to enjoy a party weekend with the prat."**

**Xander felt Spike's cool hand squeeze his gently and turned his attention from the approaching light to catch the vampire's blue eyes shining weirdly in the ambient lighting. When Spike leaned forward, he placed one hand on the side of his jaw and guided the pale lips to his own. Opening his mouth, he felt Spike's tongue dart to meet his own. **

**In all too brief a time, he was pulling back and opening the passenger door.**

"**Hey… I'll miss you being here," Xander said.**

"**I care about you, too," Spike returned as he slammed the door. **

**He remained parked until Spike walked up the stairs and entered the train without a backward glance. With a sigh and a bit of worry he put the car in reverse and pulled out of the space to go back to Buffy's… ****Dawn's****. To pass the time and give her something else to focus on than her sister's and mother's absence, he was going to take her shopping tomorrow to replace Spike's destroyed clothing. He couldn't help but wonder if this attack against Spike was an isolated thing, or if they should be gearing up for another battle. He didn't know if he had the energy for it right now.**

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**In the basement, the Buffybot's head was reattached and Willow was theoretically working on its programming. In fact, she was browsing among nearly a dozen browser windows for anything she could find on resurrection rituals.**

**She'd spent the day at the dorm, gathering clothes for her and Tara as well as textbooks. They were both going to be spending a lot more time at Joyce's now, after all. But she'd also spent the time away from Tara thinking about her dream from earlier that morning. **(1)

**So, now she was feverishly looking for a way to rescue Buffy. Her friend was suffering, who knew what, and Willow was the only one with the power to get to her. That was why Buffy had come to her, she'd decided. She was her only hope.**

**She froze, listening to the footsteps above her head and listening to see if they were approaching the basement. Moments later and she'd released the breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding. Turning back to the web browsers on her laptop, she clicked on link after link, following every reference she could find no matter how obscure. In fact, she was really looking for the most obscure references she could locate… they'd seem far closer to what she was looking for than anything obvious.**

_**I'm going to get you back, Buffy. Just hold on for me!**_

**Above her head she heard Xander's voice. He must have just arrived from dropping Spike off at the train station. Willow thought of poor Angel; how horrible hearing Spike's news was going to be for him. She should have called Cordy and warned her, but she didn't have the energy to spend on questions and tears and besides, one of the others could have done that anyway. **

**Right now, she had far more important things to attend to.**

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"**No word from Giles, yet?"**

"**No, Xander. I've tried his apartment about five times, but he hasn't picked up," Tara shrugged a little worried. "Do you think we should just go over there? I mean, he wouldn't… I mean he's upset, but he'll be okay, right?"**

"**The soldier guys are all up everyone's ass out there. We'll go over there tomorrow and break down his door if we need to," Xander said. "But I'm sure he's alright. Probably just dealing with the Council and trying to plan out a strategy for us. I'm sure he's okay."**

"**I tried calling Angel's place," Dawn interjected. "There's no answer there, either. They must be on a case. I-I didn't want to just leave a message. I mean, it didn't seem right to just t-tell them on a voice mail, you know? Maybe I should call them back and let them know Spike is on the way, though. Do you think he'll be alright, just showing up there? Him and Angel…."**

"**It's okay, Dawn," Xander placed a hand on her shoulder. "Really. I talked very slowly and clearly to Spike. If he goes in there and causes a fight, you'll be allowed to kick his ass and plus I told him that I'll pick out his shirts tomorrow. That'll scare him into behaving."**

**Dawn gave him a small laugh and he found himself smiling. **

_**Amazing, **_**he thought, **_**I actually think we're going to survive this.**_

"**Willow's been down in the basement all evening," Tara said worriedly. "I'm worried about her Xan. We need the Buffy and April robots, but she's pushing herself too hard."**

"**Let's give her another hour and then I'll go down and tell her it's enough for one night, okay?"**

"**So you're staying overnight," Dawn asked hopefully.**

"**Yeah, I'll crash in Buffy's room. I guess she wouldn't mind… do you think?"**

"**No. She'd be happy to share with you," Dawn nodded. "What about Anya?"**

"**I talked to her earlier and invited her over for a family sleepover-thingy without the girly giggling and talking about boys, but she said she'd stay in."**

"**Like you don't want to talk about boys all of the sudden," Dawn joked with him.**

"**Well, despite the vampire, no, it's not my favorite thing," he said. With a wink, he added, "But I was actually thinking about how bored Tara would be."**

**This received a full giggle from Dawn that lifted more of the weight from on top of his heart. And when he noted that even Tara had laughed, he'd felt better than he had since their heartbreak three days ago. It felt good to know that there really was going to be life afterward and he thought Buffy was probably giving them a sigh of relief wherever she was now.**

"**So… how about we check out what's on cable," Xander suggested.**

"**I'll go make popcorn," Tara smiled. "Dawn, pick out a game and get the board set up."**

"**Ohh! Monopoly! Without Anya here, maybe I can actually not go bankrupt this time!"**

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End Ch 3

See _Spanderverse: Points of View, Two_ for the details of Willow's dream regarding Buffy.


	4. The Trip Northward

**Rebuilding**

Ch 4 – The Trip Northward

**The central clock over Sunnydale's First Presbyterian Church chimed the midnight hour.**

**The weather was nearly breezeless and temperatures hovered at sixty degrees. There were no people out on the streets to enjoy the near-Spring temperatures, however. Army vehicles patrolled the streets as the residents remained indoors in cooperation with the final night of curfews. Even the Bronze and the newly restored Midnight Rain jazz club remained locked and dark.**

**The town remained locked up for the night, except, for there was always an 'except', for an underground club frequented by toughs and the very small motorcycle crowd. Scattered among the few dozen patrons were the usual assortment of vampires seeking their next meal, or sex, or more likely than not, both. **

**Among the crowd stood out a man who at first glance wouldn't appear to belong in such a place. He sat at the bar, shooting straight shots of appallingly cheap bourbon and glaring at those around him, daring them to approach. He'd noted three vampires… two men and a woman, but couldn't be bothered to confront them. The clientele in this place didn't exactly seem like 'innocents' who deserved rescuing.**

**He was in one of his very few pair of jeans and a dark brown leather jacket. Under the jacket he wore a dark green turtleneck sweater and on his feet were dark black boots. His eyes were unusually dark… appearing nearly black in the smoky, dimly lit place.**

**After his sixth shot of the night, he scanned the crowd, searching. After several moments, he found what he was seeking. A woman, large breasts squeezed into a far too small top. She was blond, though it appeared that came from a bottle. Her skirt rode high on her tad too chunky thighs. Her rear end was largish, and she wore three-inch heels. She was currently bent over a pool table, lining up a shot while shooting smoldering glances at a rough looking man in leathers, jeans and a ratty, black T-shirt.**

**The man from the bar crossed with confidence through the haze despite hobbling with a heavy cast around his ankle. He ended up directly behind the woman. He watched her make her shot then turned his obvious gaze to the ample curve of her ass as she stood, unaware of his attention. Her companion, however, was not as blind to him and scowled.**

"**Hey man, back off," he menaced as he started around the pool table.**

**The woman turned then to see what her latest boyfriend was getting so testy about and found herself staring up into the darkest and most magnetic eyes she'd ever seen. The guy seemed a bit older than she usually found attractive and the way he was dressed seemed a bit too straight-laced for this place. She was far more attracted to the bad boy image. Despite this, she found herself captivated by those piercing, dark eyes.**

"**Hey, man," her current squeeze, Randy said again. "Back off from my woman!"**

"**Is she yours," the man from the bar asked. Giving Randy only the briefest of eye contact, he turned away disinterestedly. The man in leather chaps was thin with scraggly red facial hair and blue eyes that were bloodshot. He returned his penetrating gaze to the woman while still speaking to the man, "How much would you charge for a few hours with her?"**

"**She ain't no whore! You're talking about my mama. Now, I'm telling you to back off or I'm gonna bust your head wide open!"**

**The people directly around the table began to grow tense. Most nights here ended in a brawl of one sort or another. It was sort of expected… in fact, closing time generally came when the last one standing threw the last punch. A current of expectation and excitement coursed through the crowd. The man from the bar could feel the buzz in the air and it only added to his sexual need.**

"**Why don't we let the lady decide who she wants to take home," he said.**

"**Anna, tell this pervert to flip off, or I'm gonna bust his ass and then yours," she heard from directly behind her. Randy's bony hand was digging painfully into her upper arm. He tended to get a little rough when he'd been drinking and thought she was showing interest in somebody else.**

"**He's right, mister. We're sort of involved," Anna shrugged. Though she liked a good fight over her as much as the next girl, she knew the old English guy was going to get hurt if Randy got started.**

"**So? You obviously desire me. And I want you. He has nothing to say about it," the man from the bar said.**

"**Oh, that does it!" Randy reached around Anna, pushing her against the pool table roughly to get to the stranger.**

**The man from the bar looked at the other man's hands on his sweater, bunching it up. The leather clad gentleman appeared ready to engage in fisticuffs. Closing his eyes briefly, the man from the bar emitted an electrical burst from his skin, sending the rough looking man into a convulsion and then to the floor.**

**As the bar crowd began muttering to themselves over the strange spectacle, the bar man returned his attentions to Anna. **

**At first she was concerned for Randy and was going to bend down to check on him, but the stranger's eyes were on her again. She felt powerless to resist the dark, magnetic gaze. She realized with a start that she wanted the stranger as badly as he wanted her. **

"**Let's go," the stranger said, holding out a hand.**

**As Anna was led from the dark interior of the bar, she asked the man his name.**

"**People call me Ripper," he said.**

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**Spike paced back and forth across the expansive lobby of the Hyperion Hotel. Not that it was still a hotel; the place had been closed for years by the feel of it. But it was where he knew Angel Investigations hung out these days, though how they managed it when they left the place so open to anyone wanting to stroll in, he wasn't sure. He hoped for Peaches' sake that there was at least some sort of wards around the place or one of these days he'd get back to find all of the furniture knicked.**

**Spike looked over the sofa with a discriminating eye, before shaking his head and forgetting the idea. Maybe if he'd brought the old car up, but since he'd taken the train….**

**The place was empty currently and he was considering what he was going to do if his 'family patriarch' wasn't back before sunrise. He didn't fancy shacking up in one of the rooms here, but he didn't have any real cash on him.**

**He sighed as he reached for his pack of smokes. He was down to six left and thought for a brief moment about saving them, but the allure of the tobacco was too great, so he lit up another one. Only five left, now.**

**Finally he heard the Vision-girl's laughter and split seconds later felt Angel's presence. He knew Angel had sensed him as well by the pensive way he'd entered the door, standing in front of the others protectively.**

"**Spike?" **

**His tone of voice sounded somewhere between annoyance and curiosity.**

"**Angel," Spike returned. He walked the few steps to the stairs and looked up at his Grand-sire. Pulling the stake out of his pocket first, he noted a black guy and the former Watcher tense, ready for action. **

**Before anyone could act rashly, Spike turned the stake, Mr. Pointy, sharp-side toward his own chest and handed it up to Angel. As Angel took it, Spike then produced the ring box. **

**Angel stared for a moment at the box before handing the stake to Cordelia, who was dressed in some…, interesting…, attire to say the least. She had a questioning frown on her face as she accepted the stake from Angel and watched him accept the ring box from Spike.**

"**I've seen this stake before," she said, "Isn't this Buffy's?"**

"**Yep," Spike replied, his eyes never leaving Angel. His Grand-sire's hands trembled, but so slightly that only a fellow vampire would have noticed as he examined the box in his hand.**

**He looked at Spike with a question in his eyes.**

"**She wanted you to have this," he said.**

**Angel opened the box and upon seeing the Claddagh ring took a step backward as if he'd been physically slapped, "Buffy?"**

"**I'm sorry, Angel. More sorry than you would ever believe."**

"**Oh, my God," Cordelia cried. She took a step over to put a comforting hand on Angel's forearm.**

**Wes shook his head and muttered, "Angel… I'm sorry."**

"**Cord… you should go change into something slightly more L.A. Uh, Wes, could you show Fred to a room please," Angel said, his voice breaking. **

**Spike only now noted a skittish young woman hiding behind the black guy.**

"**I'll throw together some sandwiches and bring 'em up to you," Gunn directed at the Fred woman and the ex-Watcher. "Angel, man, I don't know what to say."**

"**Yeah, Gunn…, yeah." As the others walked away, Cordelia wiping tears from her face, Angel's eyes burned into Spike. "If this is a trick…."**

"**No trick," Spike said. "Though I have a feeling you'd feel better if it was."**

"**Walk with me," Angel turned and marched out into the balmy and very early Los Angeles morning.**

**Spike followed him into the darkness and around the side of the hotel. They passed under an arch covered with vines and into a small park-like setting. Benches were set up around the perimeter of an old and cracked fountain, empty now except for bird excrement and dead insects. Angel more collapsed than sat on a bench and he took a seat next to him, so close they were nearly touching.**

"**Damn it," Angel growled. He fingered the ring, but didn't remove it from the velvet within the box. "How?"**

"**The Glory bint. She'd opened a portal… one of those worlds destroying kind. Buffy used her life to close it."**

"**I should have stayed. I knew leaving Sunnydale was a mistake."**

"**The PTBs wanted you here. That's why the cheerleader gets those visions, ain't it? You were needed here… besides, it was my failure that caused this," Spike sighed.**

"**Yours…?"**

"**I had the chance to stop things before they went too far. Fucked it up… left the Bit to be bled and start the Hellgod's ritual. I failed, Angel. I failed all of them."**

**He looked over and met his former mentor's and often enemy's eyes. There were tears there, but no blame. It wasn't what Spike wanted to see. He wanted to be blamed… he wanted Angel to hurt him… to punish him for his failure. He wanted to be broken and bled for what he'd caused to happen to the girl they'd both loved; though probably in different ways.**

"**Was she in… was there pain," Angel whispered, "The truth."**

"**I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know," Spike sighed. "You can be angry at me. I'm angry at myself."**

"**Did you try? To protect them; to help? Did you honestly try?"**

"**Yes. Tried, but gave that bumpy minion too much time to take me out. Went in with all my brass and attitude; shooting off my mouth, and got taken out of the action before I could stop her. Stupid!"**

"**You were never good at quiet," Angel pointed out. "You like to let everyone know you're coming to kick some."**

"**I've learned a bitter lesson."**

"**Why you? Why are you the one here?"**

"**She asked. Before the battle, she said she needed me to do this. I agreed, of course. May not have been in love with her like I thought, but I'd do anything she needed."**

"**You thought you were in love with her?! When did this happen?!" Angel had stood up and now glared down at Spike.**

"**Relax. It didn't amount to anything, anyway. It remained you… all she ever saw was you."**

"**If you touched her…," Angel threatened, grabbing Spike by his shirt front and hauling him up from the bench.**

"**Like I could have if she didn't want me to? Besides, I told you, I only thought I loved her. Now let go of me, you ponce, or we're goin' to have a go 'round and I promised Xan I wasn't coming here to fight."**

"**Xander… what does he have to do with anything?"**

"**It's been a complex few months."**

"**I feel like I'm coming in on the third reel of the movie," Angel said, letting Spike go with a sigh. "You think you're in love with Buffy, you fight on her side, you try to keep Dawn safe and now you're making promises to Xander about not starting trouble? What the hell is happening to you, Spike? Is that chip causing a mental breakdown?"**

"**What? You think you need a soul to change, old man? Well, maybe the chip is acting as one for me. All I know is I've found myself taking care of the Summers' women… or trying to… I guess I haven't done a bang up job of it."**

"**Spike… you tried," Angel sighed again. "I don't understand why or how, but if they trusted you; if ****she**** trusted you with her mother and sister then I have to believe she knew what she was doing."**

"**She was a remarkable woman. You knew her, far better than I ever did. Is it really surprising that she could tame a viper like me? That she could inspire loyalty, even in somebody like me?"**

"**She was remarkable. How are the rest doing? And when did this happen?"**

"**Three days, now. And they're a wreck, what do you think? But we're trying; we're all trying to do right by her memory… keep going, keep fighting. Dawnie… she's my purpose in life now, mate," Spike said. "I swore she'd stay safe from now on."**

"**William the Bloody as nanny," Angel asked with the hint of a smile.**

"**Yeah, it's ridiculous. But that's the way of it. Her and Xan… I don't know how I'd cope if they'd joined Buffy that night," he sighed while turning away so that Angel wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.**

"**Xander again?"**

"**We're… trying," Spike admitted to Angel's surprised look. "Making a go of it. Together."**

**Angel shook his head, "I sure didn't see that coming. Not just the 'you' part, but I didn't think Xan played on that side of the fence. Not that there's anything wrong with that."**

"**You'd know. Me and you… back in the day, once in a while."**

"**You and Angelus. And I may not like Xander especially, but I hope you and he are going to be a lot healthier. Does he understand what he's getting into, do you think? Do you?"**

"**Is that concern," Spike sarcastically asked.**

"**Yeah, I guess it is," Angel answered with all seriousness. "Mostly for him, of course. You're a survivor… always have been. I'm not sure he's equipped to be a consort."**

"**No consort. We're trying it the mortal way. I wouldn't risk things going too far with him, assuming the chip would let that happen, anyway."**

"**The more you speak, the less I'm sure that I'm talking to Spike."**

"**You're a poncey, wanker, broody, walking forehead with bad hair. Better?"**

"**Much," Angel smiled for a moment before he again looked in pain. "I can't believe… she was so full of life. I don't think I believed that she'd end up like the others."**

"**I know, mate. I am sorry, Grand-Sire. I wish I could have handled things better when she needed me to."**

**Angel surprised himself by putting an arm around Spike's shoulders and Spike shocked himself by leaning into Angel's embrace. Together they looked up at the smoggy night and listened to the sounds of traffic from out on the streets of the city, both of them so full of regret that it was nearly crushing. Both of them lost in memories of the bravest woman they each thought they'd ever know.**

"**I need to get drunk. Wes has scotch tucked away in a desk," Angel said suddenly.**

"**Lead on."**

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End Chapter 4


	5. The Baddies

**Rebuilding**

Ch 5 – The Baddies

"**What're you doing Andy," Warren asked teasingly. **

**Andrew jumped at the sound of his name and quickly fumbled with his zipper. On the PC's screen two men were double teaming a buxom brunette between them. She was pretty, but Andy's eyes seemed glued to the man's rear end facing the camera lens.**

"**Uh, n-nothing! Uh, just surfing," Andy replied while fumbling to close the browser window.**

"**Oh, Andrew… you dirty, little boy," Warren continued his teasing. "But you don't need to be embarrassed, you know. Who among us doesn't like a little internet porn? But we have work to do if you can shift your blood supply to the head above your shoulders."**

**Behind them, Jonathon stumbled through the door carrying a box which he was obviously struggling with. "Geez, this thing is heavy! I could use a little help here."**

"**Sorry short-round, you know the rules," Warren said with a smile. "Me and Andrew put up the money for those parts, which means you're the mule this time."**

"**I would've helped pay if you'd let me know."**

"**But then we wouldn't have a carrier, now would we? Next time you can help pay and Andy will be the pack mule," Warren offered.**

"**Why can't you be the mule once in a while," Jonathon asked, not unreasonably.**

"**I'm the leader and the organizer. I don't carry, that's what I have Franken-Adam for."**

"**Then why not use the oaf," Jonathon complained.**

"**In due time; I'm charging him right now for tonight. Now get that junk down here! I want to work on installing the extra equipment on him right away. Andrew… I think the Tannis leaves are starting to not work. You better find some other way to preserve Adam's organic components… that is if you can stop yanking your crank long enough."**

"**Ew," Jonathon made a face, "I'm not using that chair until it's disinfected. And if you found a good porn site, I hope you remembered to bookmark it."**

"**Guys," Warren exclaimed in impatience, "Can we forget about sex, please? You two have to review our surveillance tapes and plan out tonight's activities! In the meantime, I need to get started on Adam's modifications."**

"**What about the Slayer," Andrew asked, starry-eyed now that Warren was back.**

"**Don't be stupid," Warren replied, "Buffy doesn't care about robberies."**

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**Vanessa Reston wandered the bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Sunnydale in a funk. She'd thought it was going to be far more fun to seek a little long overdue justice against Dru's paramour and her Sire, Spike, than it had turned out. Sure she'd trashed his possessions, which had been fun, but that hardly mattered in the long term. To really make him suffer, she'd wanted to find Dru, the bitch, and hack off a few of her limbs but she hadn't found her in Sunnydale. Disappointingly, it appeared that Spike was on his own these days. She wondered idly whether he and the nutty one had finally gotten tired of each other or if, perhaps, Drusilla ran into the wrong vampire killer along the way.**

**Vanessa sat with a sigh at the dusty table in the dining room of the abandoned castle-like structure. At its head and foot were lit candelabra which suffused the room in a weak, yellow glow. The fireplace had a small fire going, but not too large. It wouldn't do to attract attention, considering the Slayer was about. It bothered her to think that Spike was wandering in the Vampire Slayer's territory… what if she found him before she could enact her revenge? What in the world was he doing here, anyway, of all the places in the world where their kind could hang about?**

**She combed her long, red hair with her fingers and sighed. Outside, the sunlight was shining despicably bright giving everything out there a rosy glow. California… the last place you'd think a vampire would choose to call home.**

**She stretched out her hand and raked her fingernails down the chest of the man tied to the table top. The nails left behind grooved trails in his skin which quickly filled with blood. The man whimpered, pleading with his eyes, for he was quite well gagged, for mercy. Vanessa ignored this. Placing her face down to the wounds, she licked at the blood welling on the man's muscular chest.**

"**I'm so bored," she complained to the man. "I so wanted to cause Spike some sort of anguish. Now, between the lack of Dru to torture and the Hellmouth's guardian, I fear I won't have any time at all to do as I had so wished. I may need to simply stake him out in the sunshine and leave this place."**

**The man, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes, issued a muffled plea to be let go. He couldn't form words, but Vanessa had been through this scenario multiple times and they always pleaded the same thing. Oh sure, sometimes they started out defiant but in the end, they all thought they could guilt her out of killing them.**

"**Shhh… shhhh… there's no need to be afraid, dear. After all, God is supposed to take care of you isn't he," she laughed gaily. "And aren't you all pleased to be going to Heaven, anyway? That's what your religions keep saying… that you're going to a paradise? You'd think that you would thank me for sending you on your way."**

**Vanessa's face morphed causing another bout of muffled yelling by the man. She might even be tempted to call it screaming, but she'd give him the benefit of the doubt and call it yelling. No reason to strip him of his manliness, after all. **

**She leaned in and bit the side of the man's throat, making sure that the artery tore. The blood shot down her throat in such a torrent she couldn't swallow fast enough and blood ran down her chin and onto the table. The man was dead in less than a minute, his pleas finally falling silent. Vanessa looked down at the chalky white face and the blank eyes.**

"**Goodbye, Dennis. Have a safe trip to the afterlife." She bent down and kissed him on his slack lips, leaving a bloody imprint of her mouth upon his.**

_**I've been looking for Spike and Dru for eighty years, **_**she mused. **_**I simply cannot leave until I've punished my silly Sire for abandoning me under the urging of the daft tramp. But without him caring for anyone, how can I inflict the mental torture he so deserves before sending him back to Hell?**_

**She wandered over to the tiny fire in the brick fireplace and gazed into the flames. She recalled her turning in 1921 and the way that she'd been left empty and bereft by her lord so shortly afterward. As if her new life had been a lark to the suave, pale beauty. She'd been simply tossed away all because Dru wanted her Pale Prince all to herself. She growled quietly in frustration as she tore the cover from the book of poetry she'd taken from him. This she added to the dying flame in front of her and placed her hands above the fire.**

"**Well, Dru will get hers! I swear this on my own damned soul. But first… my irresponsible Sire will be made to pay before I lose track of him again. He turned his back on me, the traitor, and he will suffer for it!"**

**Vanessa wrapped a moth eaten and filthy comforter around her thin shoulders and scooted closer to the tiny flame. She was so cold; she was always so cold since the night she'd died and been reborn as one of the Hellspawn. And she'd so enjoyed the sunlight once upon a time; another insult that she would lay at William's feet when she had him where she wanted.**

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**Across Sunnydale, Rupert Giles rolled over in bed with a groan as the insistent pounding on the front door continued. Peeking at the clock and seeing it was nearly noon, he jumped up and wrapped himself in a robe. He hadn't meant to sleep in so long today, Saturday or no. **

**Stumbling to the front door, he opened it to see four worried faces staring at him. Tara, Willow, Dawn and Xander wore identical frowns.**

"**H-hello? What's wrong," he said as he stepped aside to allow them in.**

"**That's what we've come to find out," Xander said.**

"**I've been calling and calling you Mr. Giles," Tara frowned even deeper at him. "We were growing worried. It's not healthy for you to be shut away in here, like this."**

"**So, we've come to make you socialize," Dawn said. **

"**And we're not taking 'no' for an answer," Willow added. "Go get dressed. We're taking you out to brunch… something that's not a liquid one, either."**

"**We know you've been drinking heavily, Giles," Xander replied to his silent look of surprise. "And we're not sitting by and watching as Buffy's death destroys you. We need you."**

"**A-and plus," Tara quickly added, "We just care about you."**

"**O-oh, well… I-I am quite gratified by your concern for me, but really, I haven't been drinking that much. And I haven't been 'shut away' as you say. I-I've actually been quite busy collating your accounts of what happened and readying my official reports to the Council. But, as I say, I'm quite touched by your concerns. Uh, where is Anya?"**

"**She's out shopping for a car," Xander said. "I'm not sure why she suddenly feels the need for one, especially since technically she's unemployed again, but that's what she's doing today."**

"**I see," Giles frowned. **

**According to Anya's written account, she intended to leave Sunnydale for a while. Obviously she hadn't brought her plans up to the rest of the gang yet, so he would keep her confidence for the moment. **(1)

"**W-well, since you all plan on not going away until I comply; I'll go get dressed, then."**

**He gave them all a small smile and made his way back to the downstairs bedroom. As he was getting dressed he flashed on a memory of a disturbing dream he'd had last night. Something involving a rather unrespectable bar, but the details were unclear.**

_**Well, no matter. It was only a dream, after all.**_

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**Much later in the afternoon, Dawn and Xander were sitting in Sunnydale's old mall resting their feet. Displayed around them were bags from several men's clothing stores filled with jeans and shirts, plus a few belts and a new pair of leather boots.**

"**Well, I think I've put just about enough on my charge card for one day," Xander said, looking over their purchases. "Thanks for coming with, Dawn. You seem to have a good feel for what Spike will wear."**

"**Sure… it was nice to get out of the house."**

**He looked at her with concern. She had seemed to lose some of the depression they were all struggling with only days after Buffy's self sacrifice, but now she was looking off into space around the mall's courtyard.**

"**So kiddo…; want to talk about what's bothering you then? Is it Buffy… 'cause that's okay. No one is expecting you to just get over what happened. None of us are just getting over it."**

"**Oh, no, it's not that. I mean; maybe it's sort of that, too."**

**Xander waited a minute as Dawn seemed to concentrate on something and then prompted her, "So?"**

"**It's just the last time I was here, it was just before Christmas. One of Glory's mind-wiped victims was here. A Latino man and he was shouting at me. I didn't really understand it at the time and most of what he was saying was in Spanish and it was too fast for me to get, but I was just remembering, that's all.**

"**Xan? It's okay, isn't it? I mean for us to be getting better so soon? I mean, Buffy really did go the way she wanted… saving us… being a hero. It's alright for us to go on, right?"**

**He reached out and put an arm around her, pulling her against his side. Leaning his face into her hair, he kissed the side of her head. **

"**It's okay if you're feeling alright and it's okay if you're not really, yet. We're probably going to have good days and bad days and there's no wrong here, okay?"**

"**Thanks, Xan. I think today has been a good day."**

"**Not yet it hasn't. I refuse to come to the mall and not grab one of those giant pretzels with too much salt and mustard and a frozen Coke… it just wouldn't be right. What do you say? You with me?"**

**Dawn smiled, "Yeah… but no mustard on mine."**

"**Well, that strikes me as abnormal, but okay."**

"**Are we sure that Spike is coming back tonight?"**

"**As far as I know," Xan smiled involuntarily. He seemed to do that a lot when he thought of the not-so-menace. "I was going to call A.I. around six-ish and make sure."**

"**Can I talk to Cordelia? She made me feel better after mom and I know her and Buffy weren't really close or anything…?"**

"**Of course, you can. Cord is part of the family, isn't she? Besides, I'd rather you talk to her than me talking to Angel or Wes."**

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End Chapter 5

See _Spanderverse: Points of View, One_ for details regarding Anya's planned departure.


	6. Returns

**Rebuilding**

Ch 6 – Returns

**Xander sat on the warm hood of his car as the engine ticked and cooled under his butt. The night was a nice one out as he waited patiently for the train from L.A. to arrive. It was relatively early in the evening, so he could hear sounds from Main Street only two blocks away and the occasional car passed by the parking lot. The town was getting back to what passed for normal in the wake of the 'storms' earlier in the week. Sixth Street was still barricaded, routing traffic around a two block collapse. It looked as if one of Glory's portal lightning blasts had hit the tarmac, causing the ground beneath to give way. Work crews had been surveying it for the last several days.**

**It was Saturday night and Spike was coming home. Xander wanted desperately to take the vampire back to the apartment and drink beer, hear about Angel and then get to a serious, Olympics-level make out session. They could even skip the Angel part completely.**

_**Not that I was **__**planning**__** on doing those things**_**, he sighed. Spike would no doubt want to rush over to the Summers' and check on Dawn and they would probably end up staying there… or at least Spike would.**

_**Why does **__**she**__** have to be so needy, **_**Hyena piped up. **_**We haven't even gotten to have one good, hard lay with him yet!**_

"**Dawn needs him right now," Xander said aloud. "Besides, I'm not so sure that 'hard lay' is something I'm ready for. I'm still dealing with having a guy's tongue in my mouth."**

_**I don't get the big deal. I'm sorry, I just don't. Spike is sexy and you want him… end of story.**_

"**Maybe," Xander said. **_**But things aren't that easy… ever. And besides, what does it matter what Spike and I do… it's **__**Spike**__**and**__**I**__**. It's got nothing to do with you.**_

_**Yeah, right…, **_**she smirked as she sank back within his mind.**

**The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end and Xander stood up and turned around surveying the night. A few cars passed and he saw nothing unusual in the light given off by their low-beams, nor by the streetlamps that bathed the train station. Still, he'd been on patrol countless times since forming the Scooby Gang with Willow, Giles and Buffy and he could swear that someone was watching, or stalking, him.**

_**Someone other than a disembodied Hyena-spirit.**_

**The sound of an approaching train's whistle broke the eerie mood and a moment later he laughed at himself. **

_**Being on the Hellmouth is finally making me paranoid,**_** he thought with an amused shake of his head.**

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"**Anakin to Obi-Wan, no sight of Leia. I have Chewbacca in my sights, though. I think he's waiting for the arriving train. Do you think he has company coming from out of town," Andrew said into a walkie-talkie.**

"**Who cares?!" Warren had yelled at him from the device and he sounded annoyed. He often sounded annoyed to Andrew. "Look, if Buffy isn't with him then proceed to watch point two. I almost have Adam remotely connected to the bank's security system."**

"**Not Adam, Warren! Remember, his code name. And the target is Leia," Andrew whined.**

"**Fine," Warren's irritated voice sighed. "I've almost got Darth Vader ready to go, Anakin. Obi-Wan to Luke, any signs of Leia, over."**

**The next voice from Andrew's talkie was Jonathon's, "Negative Obi-Wan. No sight of any of the Alliance, I'm proceeding to area five, over and out."**

"**I'm surrounded by nerds," Warren's voice sounded.**

"**Uh… don't hold the button down if you don't want to transmit stuff, Obi-Wan. Anakin is headed for the Espresso Pump," Andrew reported.**

"**Bring Obi back a chocolate donut and a large coffee. Out."**

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**Below the streets of Sunnydale, Vanessa wandered the natural cavern systems toward Spike's crypt. She was hoping there'd be signs that he'd come back and seen her message. In her hands, she carried a crossbow, but she was hoping she wouldn't need to use it. Simply shooting him into dust was far too quick and easy for the bastard. Still, it was best to remain ready in case she ran into him down here. It was a sure bet that he would not be pleased to see her.**

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**The train pulled into the station, depositing only one person who wished to visit the town; Spike. As he jumped down to the platform, he saw Xander waiting for him near the purple Taurus. He really hated that car.**

"**Glad to see you back Evil-one," Xan smiled.**

"**And I don't even have a stake mark on me," he smirked. "How's my Bit?"**

"**She's fine, Spike. And so am I, thanks for asking."**

"**I was going to, after I was sure that Dawn was alright," Spike smiled. "Why are you standing out here unarmed? If you get yourself bit out here, I'm going to kick your ass."**

"**I have stakes in the car. AND," Xander added as Spike opened his mouth to point out that he wasn't in the car, "I have a bottle of holy water in my jacket pocket and a stake strapped under my pant's leg. Relax, Baby, I've been doing this awhile, you know?"**

"**Yeah, yeah," Spike smirked again as they got into the car. "You're just a regular bad-ass… my mistake."**

"**So, Dawn first?"**

"**Drive on, Love."**

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"**Spike!" **

**Dawn rushed to the front door and threw her arms around him even before he'd gotten completely in the door. "I'm glad you're back. C'mon, we've got new clothes for you. I picked out the shirts! You're going to look so cool."**

"**I already look cool, Half-Pint."**

"**Cool-er, then," Dawn smiled while dragging him toward the stairs.**

"**Is everything alright," Tara asked Spike as he made his way behind Dawn.**

"**It's fine, Tara. Angel will cope; he's got his own crew to help him," Spike shot back at her.**

"**C'mon, Xan, I have a pot of coffee on," Tara led him into the kitchen.**

"**Where's Will?"**

"**Guess. She's running herself ragged, but she won't listen when I tell her to take a break."**

**Xander sighed. Willow had looked like she was sleeping on her feet this morning when they'd met to storm Giles' place. He'd tried to ask her about how she was sleeping, but she'd put him off by pushing them all out the door to find out what Giles was up to.**

**Now, he gratefully took a cup of coffee (just the way he liked it, too, Tara must have been watching over them all these last days) and headed for the basement.**

"**I'll check on her," he told Tara, who just gave him a worried nod.**

**As Xander entered, he saw Willow quickly close her laptop. She grabbed a pair of needle-nosed pliers and began to extricate a wire from April.**

"**Hey, Will… how long you been down here working," he asked, trying not to sound concerned. He didn't like how she seemed to be a bundle of nerves.**

"**N-nothing! I mean, I've, uh, been busy with the robots."**

"**Will… we're a bit worried upstairs. Are you sure you're not overdoing it down here? I mean, we don't need the robots done tonight, you know."**

"**Well, they're not going to repair and program themselves, you know. Was that Spike I heard," Will asked him, but he thought she was only trying to distract him.**

"**He's back and fine; now let's talk about you. You don't look like you're sleeping, Will. I'm worried about the circles under your eyes."**

"**I'm fine, Xander. I just have a lot to do. We especially need the Buffybot up and running. I'll rest more once I'm done with them. And by the way, your pot is calling my kettle…."**

"**Can I do anything to help?"**

"**Not down here. I've got it handled, but you could take a look at the hall window upstairs. The Knights broke it when they were ransacking the place," she offered what she hoped would be an 'everything is normal' smile.**

**Xan only sighed at her, obviously not convinced. They knew each other so well, so of course he could see that she was stressed. She just wasn't ready to reveal why. Not yet, anyway.**

"**I'll take a look. Listen though; I'm putting a one hour limit on you for the rest of the night. If you're not upstairs relaxing in sixty minutes, I'm coming down and dragging you up. Deal?"**

"**Y-yeah, okay. One more hour," she smiled falsely again. And then she blew out a sigh of half relief and half frustration after he'd gone back upstairs, closing the door behind him and getting out of her hair.**

**Instantly forgetting the robots, she returned to her laptop and continued delving into the lore surrounding Osiris. **

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**Rupert Giles sealed the large security envelope and turned it over in his hands. It was already addressed to the recipient, Quentin Travers, London, England. **

**He blew out a breath and took a sip of his whiskey-spiked tea. Hopefully, the chronology of events was logical enough that there would be few questions. He'd called the Council to report the defeat of Glory earlier this afternoon. By reporting things as sketchily as possible, he was able to use Travers' questions to beef up the fairy tale he was mailing them.**

**He glanced nervously at the envelope in his hands again, before placing it back on his desk. He'd send it by special courier in the morning and then hold his breath and wait. There would be follow up questions, of course. There always were, but he believed that he'd constructed the narrative relatively straight-forward so that it would be commented upon and then filed rather quickly. The next trick would be conditioning the Buffy robot to pass examination by the Council, should they wish to question 'Buffy' about her experiences against Glorificus.**

**He hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but he was anticipating that Travers may wish to come over to congratulate her in person. Not to mention his questions regarding the Knights of Byzantium and their ultimate fates. **

**Thinking of the Knights had him adding a little more whiskey to his already strong tea. They had no way of knowing if all of the Knights who knew Dawn's secret had been eliminated by Glory. If not, there could still be zealots in the area that may wish to target her.**

**Grabbing the phone, he called over to Buffy's house to check on things.**

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**Anya looked over her suitcases sitting by the bedroom door and felt sadder than she had expected. It wasn't like she was leaving for good, after all. But still, just the fact that she wouldn't see Xander everyday anymore felt oddly strange and unsettling to her.**

**Shaking her head she pulled out a highway map of California and looked at the surrounding towns and then followed her route with her finger northward. She knew Angel was in L.A., and so intended to skip by it. Not that the city wasn't so big she could easily avoid them, anyway, but it would be easier this way. And it wasn't that she necessarily disliked the idea of seeing the L.A crew, but she didn't really know any of them that well and besides, this trip was about avoiding demons and vampires and the responsibilities of world saving. **

**She just wanted to be a tourist for awhile. Of course, her new automobile would be fully equipped with crosses and stakes, anyway. She didn't want to be a blind and stupid tourist.**

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End Chapter 6


	7. Sunday, Day 6

**Rebuilding**

Ch 7 – Sunday, Day 6

"**Anya," Dawn greeted her at the front door. "We had so much fun last night, you should have been here. Oh! And I used your strategy at Monopoly… totally won!" Dawn gave her a 'go-me, go-me' dance.**

"**Well, that's wonderful Dawn. Although I must insist that you don't use it when I play next time. I'm considering filing for a patent," Anya said distractedly as she breezed by her on the way to the kitchen. She wasn't looking forward to being here, but she'd picked today as the day… her bags were already in the trunk of her little, used Mazda.**

**Dawn rolled her eyes and followed.**

**It was about ten a.m. and everyone was at the Summers' household, but Giles. Spike was upstairs, presumably doing the deep-sleep thing. The others were in the kitchen, quietly sitting or standing at the island and eating waffles that Tara had whipped up. No one had said much of anything to that point.**

"**So… does anyone know if Giles is going to re-open the store," Anya asked after clearing her throat. She sort of needed to know about how long she had before she needed to return to Sunnydale.**

"**Worried about your ****job****," Willow asked judgmentally.**

"**I wasn't thinking about that specifically but, well, I do still have bills," Anya stated. "I mean, I ****do**** need to work somewhere." **_**As soon as I return, anyway, **_**she thought**__

"**I can't believe you're worried about that now!"**

"**Girls…," Xander tried to interrupt.**

"**Well I'm sorry that life didn't just stop because Buffy died! Not all of us can just crash here for free now, you know," Anya raised her voice. "It's been nearly a week and we all have to decide what we're doing next." **

**She'd always disliked Willow's 'holier than thou' attitude and since she was leaving anyway, there wasn't any reason to stop herself from pointing it out now.**

"**Girls…," Xander tried again seeing Dawn turn pale, her eyes wide with tears. He was growing angry at seeing Dawn upset… she'd just gotten to where she could laugh again. And she was still struggling to deal with her losses; it must seem to her like the only family she had left was trying to rip itself apart.**

"**You are so goddamned cold, Anya! I can't believe how selfish you can be," Willow glared, at the same time shrugging Tara's restraining hand off of her arm. "Buffy died for us and all you can think about is 'la-la-la, I don't care, time to make some money!'"**

"**For your information, Ms. Holier-Than-Thou, I was thinking about Giles' well being! He needs something to do or he'll just continue to lock himself into his apartment and drink himself to death!"**

"**Don't try to pretend this is about Giles," Willow yelled. "This is about what it's always about… Anya's bank account!"**

"**Girls, stop it," Xander shocked the room into silence by yelling as loud as he could. Both Anya and Willow stared at him wide-eyed.**

**Tara looked uncomfortable, while Willow and Anya continued to glare at one another. Dawn just looked from one to the other miserably before excusing herself and running out the back door.**

"**Nice, Anya," Willow said. "Way to go."**

"**Me?! I'm not the one yelling at people!"**

"**Will, honey, please… enough," Tara said.**

"**I'm just trying to figure out where we go from here," Anya nearly pleaded. "We can't just stand here like life isn't going to continue on. You have to come up with a plan of action. What about patrolling? Who's going to take care of Dawn and the household expenses while you and Tara are not earning any money, wasting all day in school?"**

**Willow opened her mouth, her face in a severe frown, but Xander pre-empted whatever she was going to say.**

"**We'll work it out. I have my check. You can file for unemployment until you find another job, Ahn. Giles will figure out something to take care of Dawn and the house… Mrs. Summers would have had life insurance, we just have to find out where that money is. Besides, wasn't the Council supposed to be offering a stipend… whatever happened to that?"**

"**Xander… I'm not staying. My bags are packed and in the car. I… I need time away."**

"**What? Anya… come on, w-we need to draw together now. This isn't the time to run away."**

"**I'm not running, Xander. I'm traveling. I ****will**** be back; I'll keep in touch and let you know where I'm at. As soon as Giles is ready to re-open the store, I'll be here. But I've got some money now, thanks to my investments, and I need to spend some time with me. Please try to understand."**

"**I'm going to go out and see to Dawn," Tara said quietly. **

**She directed to Willow as she passed, "If you and Anya can't get along long enough to give Dawn one quiet, civil breakfast, then maybe you should just leave the house right now as well!" **

**She turned to Anya, "Good luck, Ahn. Please let me know where you are so I can keep you updated."**

**Willow watched in surprise as Tara all but stomped out of the back door.**

"**She's right," Xander directed at both girls. "I'm going upstairs to see Spike. You two need to work out a way to be civil with one another before Dawn comes back in and before Anya leaves for… wherever."**

"**I didn't mean…" Willow started to say.**

"… **I don't care what you meant, Will," Xander threw over his shoulder. "You're both acting like five year olds and I don't have the patience for it. Anya… I don't want you to go. But… I do understand. After what Glory did to you… after Buffy… I get it. It's okay; you're always welcome here, though… please remember that."**

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**With the softest of knocks, Xander entered Dawn's bedroom. The shade was pulled down on the window, blocking out most of the dangerous sunlight. In addition, he saw that Spike had pulled a sheet up over his head and was lying completely covered and still. He turned around to leave, but Spike stopped him:**

"**I'm still awake. If the girls are upsetting Dawn, I'll kill 'em both."**

"**We've got it handled. I didn't mean to wake you," Xan nearly whispered.**

**Spike moved the sheet from over his head and looked at his man. Xander's eyes were haloed in dark circles, his mouth drawn down in a perpetual look of grief. He had bags, showing at the least one night of sleeplessness… not that that was a shock.**

"**You didn't wake me. My mind's full, thinking about how I can help the Bit get through this."**

**Spike's pale and bare torso nearly glowed in the ambient light of the room, the sheet now down around his waist. As Xan came further into the room, he closed the door behind him and began removing his shirt.**

"**What you doing," Spike asked.**

"**Crawling into bed with you," Xander answered as his shoes came off, followed by his unzipping his pants.**

**Spike simply watched him, a questioning look on his face. As Xander shoved his pants down and kicked them off followed by white sweat socks, leaving only his boxers, the vampire raised his eyes to meet his.**

**Xander gave him an embarrassed half-grin, but lifted Dawn's sheet and crawled in next to the vampire. When he'd gotten himself settled, he turned so that he faced Spike, who still lay on his back perfectly, supernaturally, still.**

"**You can touch me, you know," he said.**

"**I thought you weren't ready for… stuff," Spike said as he also finally turned onto his side to face the warm human body next to him.**

**Lying chest to chest, Xander allowed one hand to reach out and settle on Spike's hip. He was foolishly surprised to feel the cool bare flesh under his fingers. He'd forgotten that Spike apparently had never heard of underwear.**

"**I said I wasn't ready for everything. And that was before…. Let's just say I'm feeling a little more ready than before," Xan smiled before leaning into Spike and capturing his lips with his own.**

"**Xan," Spike whispered, his voice strained. "Don't start this if you're not sure."**

**Xan's fingers crept around from Spike's hip and down his waist until they touched his full erection. Wrapping a hand around Spike's hardness, he began to gently fist him forward and back.**

"**No more talking," he commanded with a smile. "Just kiss me."**

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**Tara found Dawn sitting on the bench under the tree in the backyard. It was where she always went when she was upset and needed out of the house. **

**She took a seat near her and put her arm around Dawn's shoulder. "Those two," she said in frustration.**

"**I hate it when we fight with one another. I-I can't lose anyone else," Dawn said, wiping her eyes.**

"**It's not that serious, Sweetie. You know they just tend to rub each other the wrong way. Besides, Anya is going away for awhile. Not permanently," Tara added quickly as Dawn looked at her with surprise. "She just wants to see the country… try to deal with what Glory had done to her. She needs some time to heal."**

"**We all do. Shouldn't we be doing it together?"**

"**Oh, Honey. We all have to find our own way and Anya's is to spend some time alone with Anya. We have to give her that, don't we? And she promised that she isn't leaving for good… it's just a little vacation."**

"**Do you think," Dawn asked, "Do you think she'll really come back? It's weird, but even though she's not my favorite person, I still can't stand the idea of her not being part of our family."**

"**There's nothing weird about it. And yes, I'm sure she'll come home when she has her mind together again. Besides, she'd never allow Giles to run the new Magic Box without her!"**

**That had the effect she had hoped for as Dawn gave her a smirk, "No… there's no way she'd trust Giles with the money. I just," she grew quieter; "I just thought we were starting to be okay."**

"**We are, Dawn. Really. But we're going to have good days and bad days for awhile."**

"**That's what Xander told me."**

"**Xander is a smart guy. Now come on and finish breakfast," Tara stood up and gave Dawn her hand.**

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**When they'd re-entered the house, Anya was making a sandwich at the island. There was no sign of Willow.**

**Tara sighed, "Have you two made up?"**

"**Willow is very judgmental," Anya complained. "I'm going to make a few sandwiches for the road and then I'm going. Dawn? I'm sorry that I helped upset you. But everything I said is true; you all need to figure out what happens next."**

"**And we will," Tara said. "We have school tomorrow and Xander goes back to work. That's step one. I'll talk to Mr. Giles later about getting the Magic Box cleaned up, assuming he's going to re-open. I hope he does."**

"**Yes. I still plan on creating a Magic Box chain of shops," Anya nodded.**

"**I'm sorry to see you leave," Dawn said as she re-sat down while Tara placed her cold plate in the microwave. **

"**But Tara explained and I think I understand why you need some time away from Hellmouth Central."**

"**It's only for a little while," Anya told her.**

**Dawn only half-nodded, still not happy about it.**

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End Chapter 7


	8. Investigations

**Rebuilding**

Ch 8 – Investigations

**Xander glanced out of his trailer window, looking over his busy crew. He noted that Kyle and Kenny were once again bullshitting instead of hanging drywall. With a sigh he determined to give them five minutes to get back to it before he headed out and showed his face. That was usually enough to get them back to work. Across the expanse of dirt lot, Eddie was on the steamroller and seemed to be ready to complete the flattening of the expansive parking lot by the end of the day. That put them one day ahead of the new schedule he'd given to Joe to pass onto Mr. Greeley. He smiled to himself that something was going a little bit right around him.**

**Until the phone rang on his desk and the I.D. revealed Giles. With a glance of the clock, he saw it was a few minutes after one. **

_**He's calling to invite me to lunch, **_**Xander willed, not believing himself for a second.**

"**Hey, Giles. What's the disaster?"**

"**W-what… oh, no, it's no disaster. But we do have a case that Detective Stein would like us to look into. I've been reading over a report from last night and there's been a robbery. I'd like to meet for a meeting; perhaps over dinner tonight?"**

"**Sure. Have you round-robin-ed the gang, or you want me to do it? But it doesn't sound like a robbery falls into Scooby territory," Xan said.**

"**Well, ordinarily I'd agree except that this has been the third of the same sort. A, uh, New Age store was also stolen from and a natural foods store. Among the items missing are several crystals with little cash value and various cooking herbs. Place these specific items together and we have a possible magical connection."**

"**Hmm… but they stole the more valuable stuff, right? Still sounds like regular burglaries."**

"**My thoughts exactly," Giles admitted, "Until Mr. Stein also mentioned that the security systems on all of the shops happened to be deactivated the same way allowing the thieves to walk in at their leisure. The thing that caught my interest in the cases, however, is from the foods place. An eyewitness provided a sketchy account of a, and I'm quoting, "A large man who appeared to have a mangled face… like from an accident, maybe. He was wearing a really bizarre metal vest on him and he ran really, really fast. I'm talking about Olympic sprinter fast," end quote."**

"**Okay. I'm on board… maybe a super-dude is involved. The others?"**

"**I haven't called them, yet, but I'll take care of it," Giles assured him. "But I believe the 'mangled man with the metal vest' could refer to Adam. We haven't seen any signs that he was destroyed since Buffy… (there was an uncomfortable pause on the line)… since Buffy last faced him."**

"**Damn. Adam was one tough S.O.B. I think Wills has Buffybot ready for patrol. Maybe we should send her out tonight to scope around for the big lug?"**

"**I think it merits consideration," Giles said. "Once we have April up as well, it will help immensely."**

"**Okay, Giles. I gotta get back to work. See you tonight at six-thirty? Dawn's?"**

"**That will work. Until later, Xander."**

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**Madeline, a prostitute who worked the eastern warehouse district, rolled over in her bed. She gasped at the pain in her arms and back. **

**Covering her wrists and forearms she could see ugly purple bruising from her last john the night before. No doubt, there'd be similar marks on her back. He'd been pretty rough, which was alright since he'd paid extra for the privilege, but the morning after aches were annoying. And she had to admit to herself that sometimes, like last night, she had to wonder if she'd lost her mind. There were a lot of sickos out there and who knew when she'd bring home one who didn't know when to stop. She'd wondered if the English guy was going to be her mistake a few times during the three hours he'd spent tying and squeezing her, but it had worked out. **

**Marc would, no doubt, bitch to her about the bruises. It made it harder for her to bring him the bread when she was marked up, but he didn't know about her charging her customers a little on top for being allowed to go a little more on the edge. It was the only way for her to make any money at all with the bastard taking nearly everything she brought in. And the fact that he paid for the rent on this shit hole, in no way made things fair. **

**But it wasn't like she could complain about it or go solo. She'd seen what happened to Trix and Spice when they'd gotten an attitude. Neither of the girls was around anymore and it didn't take a PhD to figure out that the weird strongman with the long teeth and deformed face had 'taken care of it' for Marc. No, she'd have to keep her mouth shut and put up with her pimp cleaning out her purse. But she wasn't going to let that get in the way of keeping herself well fed, either.**

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**Anna sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, spiked with a bit of brandy. Randy was still in a foul mood over her going off with that guy from the bar. She was kind of sick of hearing about it, already. It wasn't like she was expecting him to be loyal, either. She'd seen the way he'd been checking out Sherrie's hooters on more than one occasion. She just hadn't turned into a whiner over it.**

_**Men! Always wanting us to be the housewife while they're out playing the 'big stud'**_**, she sighed aloud.**

"**I'm looking for that dude! I'm going to fuck him up," Randy fumed over the stove where sausage was frying.**

"**Baby, you really need to calm down. It wasn't nothin' but a thing and it's over. You know you're the one I love," Anna replied, bored.**

"**Yeah… acting like some cheap tramp! I can't believe you went with that psycho! Did you see what he did? Who the hell brings a Taser to a fistfight? A fucking British coward, that's who! He knew I was gonna kick his blimey ass back to England!"**

"**Well, it's over now. Besides, it was only once. Tell you what, you got a freebie coming, alright?"**

**Randy looked at her aghast, "I don't ****want**** freebies, damn it! I want you. I love you, Anna, don't you get it? I'm not like the others. This is serious."**

"**I know, Baby. And I'm sorry… it was his eyes. Those dark, hypnotic eyes…. But, like I've been saying, it was just that one time. You know I'm yours. Just tell me how I can make it up to you? How's about a three-way with Sherrie? I know you've been checking her out," Anna said slyly with a grin. "I mean, I ain't going downtown on her, but we can work something out."**

**Randy looked askance at Anna and then smiled. It wasn't like the British dude had showed up again, right? And it was just that one time and she was gonna make it up to him now.**

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**Detective Morris searched the body stuffed in some bushes for a wallet, but came up empty. He sighed out into the afternoon warmth. **

"**Anything," his partner, Donna Redsoe, asked. **

"**Nah. This looks like a lot of the others, but…."**

"**Yeah," she nodded as he stood to join her, "They're not usually sporting a chunk of their neck removed. Poor guy."**

"**He look familiar to you," he asked. Sunnydale was relatively small, so it was worth a shot.**

"**Sorry. Guess we better post a picture on the news, put up some flyers. Maybe the M.E. can identify him from dental records."**

"**Sure," Morris nodded. "Wish he'd get here and wrap this thing before too many flies come buzzing. I hate flies."**

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**In Los Angeles, Wesley sat before a sheet of thick Plexiglas separating him from the dark haired Slayer on the other side. In his hand, he gripped a telephone handset tightly.**

**The sun was streaming into the window behind him and the row of his fellow visitors. It shined through the security window and onto the bowed head of dark hair, fingers currently running through it. **

"**I know this is a shock," he said pointlessly, just to fill the silence.**

"**I knew it. I knew she was in trouble, damn it," Faith said. She lifted her head to look at her former Watcher and he was surprised at the redness around her eyes. "If I wasn't stuck in this dump, maybe I coulda helped out."**

"**You tried, Faith. You told me you warned Mr. Giles. I'm sure that Rupert took as many precautions as he could, but these things happen."**

"**Happens to Slayers, you mean? I thought having super powers was so cool… well actually, okay, it is really cool. But I forget sometimes that it doesn't mean we always get to win."**

"**Buffy was an accomplished young woman and she died for a noble cause. Her loss is terrible, of course, but we mustn't lose sight of the fact that she died a hero. We should all be given the dignity of doing so," Wes said.**

"**Poor, Giles. I can't even imagine what the Sunnydale crew is going through now. How's Angel coping," Faith asked as she brushed at her eyes.**

"**Not well, I'm afraid. He's run off to spend some time alone. Cordelia is very unhappy with the fact that he didn't deign to tell us where. I'm not very happy with it, myself."**

"**I can't believe they sent Spike to break the news," Faith said with a little bit of anger. "Couldn't Willow have come? At least she would have been gentle about it."**

"**Things have changed a little between them," he pointed out. "Spike seemed… less spiteful when he arrived. And they managed not to get into a fist fight."**

"**That's a miracle, alright. Any chance that was a sign of another apocalypse?"**

"**Well, I did have the same thought," Wes smiled for the first time since coming to the prison. "But there have been no further signs. I believe, perhaps, the planets were simply aligned just right."**

"**Are we sure that Spike is still chipped," Faith suddenly asked. "I mean, the 'Dale crew are sitting ducks if he's not chained. Hell, even if he is, I wouldn't trust him as far as Dawn could throw him."**

"**I have no doubt that Rupert is keeping a close eye on the situation; especially with this new news."**

"**Yeah, I can see Giles flipping over Xander getting involved with Platinum-Head. Didn't we already do this storyline with Buffy and Angel? I gotta admit; I didn't see Xan as playing stick. Of course, we only got physical that one time."**

"**Well, I would like to suggest to Giles he put his foot down and end this before it gets too complicated," Wes said. "But it's best if we leave them to deal with things internally while we take care of our own. It's not like we don't have enough on our plates with the return of Darla and Drusilla still out there causing trouble."**

"**And here I sit, uselessly cooling my heels."**

"**Are you regretting turning yourself in? Because, I was very impressed with your willingness to begin accepting responsibility for your prior, poor decisions, Faith."**

"'**Prior poor decisions'… talk about major understatement! But, hey, I made my bed and I'm lying in it. Just frustrating when things are going on that I was meant to fight and I'm not able to get in there and do what I was meant to do," she blew out a breath of frustration and again raked her fingers through her hair.**

"**How is your class going," Wes said to change the subject. He had been living with the worry in the back of his mind that Faith may give up and break out. He had little doubt that if she really wanted to be free, she would be. And when he considered the last time they'd met with her outside of bars, he thought his concern understandable.**

"**It's a constant reminder of why I dropped out," she replied wryly. "But I know that some people never get a second chance, so I'm sticking with it."**

"**Well, I should go. I just wanted to tell you in person."**

"**Thanks, Wes. I know… it's not that easy being this close to me."**

"**I believe in you, Faith," Wesley told her, clearly surprising her. "I think you really are turning yourself around. I have no trouble believing that you'll continue doing the right thing."**

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**Giles stuffed an egg roll into his mouth, and then vaguely waved in Willow's direction. "Do you think the robot is ready to patrol on its own? I was hoping that one of you could accompany it."**

**The Buffybot smiled beamingly at her Watcher and mentor. "I can handle it, Guy-iles. I'm a Slayer… we're very strong."**

"**Oh, really!"**

"**Sorry, Giles," Willow said with a tired yawn. "I'll fix that. And yes, I think she's good to go. This is just a recon mission, not a battle. And thanks to Warren's original programming, she's more than able to take care of the stray vamp already."**

"**As long as it's not Spike," Buffybot grinned. "He's so delicious."**

**All eyes turned toward the vampire, who virtually snarled. He also looked slightly sick, "Willow…."**

"**I know, I know," she sighed. "I'll add that to my trouble-shooting list."**

"**Make it a priority."**

"**Relax, Spike," Xander told him. "Consider it just desserts. You're just gonna have to overlook the occasional slip."**

"**You could act a little more jealous, you know," Spike glared.**

"**Can we return to the topic at hand," Giles told the table with discomfort. "Has anyone heard from Anya, today? And when can we expect April to be functional?"**

"**Nice desperate attempt to switch attention from the boyfriends," Dawn smirked. "You really need to get more comfortable with guys doing it, Giles. It's the 2000's, you know?"**

"**Dawn… don't torture the Watcher," Tara giggled before turning to Willow. No one caught Giles' flinch at being referred to as a Watcher still. "I've loaded up some holy water bottles that the robot can carry tonight on patrol. Do you think she'll bother using them?"**

**Tara turned toward the robot before Willow could respond, "Do you understand that holy water can work against vampires?"**

"**My programming indicates so, but it is illogical."**

"**Well, just toss them on them anyway, okay," Tara sighed. "We kind of need you to not get too damaged for awhile."**

"**And remember," Xander added, "You're not engaging Adam. Just follow him from a discreet distance if you see him and remember where he goes. Unless, you know, he's going to hurt someone," he added looking at the rest for conformation. "I mean, we can't let him go on a rampage."**

"**Right, then," Giles said. "I believe it's ready for its first official patrol."**

"**Creatures of the night," Buffybot nodded enthusiastically, "Except for Spike, beware!"**

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End Chapter 08


	9. Serious Discussions

**Rebuilding**

Ch 9 – Serious Discussions

**Spike and Xander walked down the dark and quiet streets toward the apartment. Xan could have drove, but they were performing a sort-of patrol and the night was very pleasant. Since he lived within a forty minute walk from Dawn's home, they'd decided that Spike would leave the Summers' before sunrise and drive the car back in time for Xander to get to work.**

**They were now walking along the low-slung rock wall of Heavenly Fields cemetery. They needed to walk one block up and two blocks over to reach Xan's apartment building. Spike came to a stop suddenly and pulled him down to sit on a bench abutting the wall. The bench sat at one of the stops for Sunnydale's very small city bus routes. Coincidentally, many of the stops on its route tended to be at cemeteries. Equally coincidentally, they stopped running to this end of town at dusk.**

"**Let's talk," Spike said, entwining his fingers around Xan's.**

"**Sure. You want to know about that morning?"**

"**What's happened to you, Luv? The scent, the violence… all of it."**

**Xander sighed as he felt Hyena tense. He was wondering if he was going to be able to voice what Spike wanted to know, but though very clearly worried, she seemed to accept that this was unavoidable now.**

"**You remember Toth?"**

"**How could I forget," Spike smirked. "The triplets running around like a poor comedy."**

"**Yeah, well, when Willow did the re-combine spell? It didn't quite work the way we thought."**

**Spike's eyebrow shot up at this news, "What do you mean?"**

"**I mean we may have joined physically, but their personalities have been hanging around. Not just voices in my head, but ****them****. They've been… separate from me," Xan shrugged, fighting to explain what exactly he'd been living with.**

"**Like split-personality?!"**

"**Not exactly," Xander admitted. "If I remember right, usually personalities don't know about each other. But I'm able to talk to Soldier-guy and Hyena-girl like they're different people… just not with their own bodies."**

"**Why the fuck didn't you say something," Spike was showing effort in trying not to yell.**

"**They wouldn't let me before," Xan snapped back. "You think I would have been acting like Sybil's brother if I could have told Will and Giles?"**

"**Xander… wait, you said they wouldn't let you before?"**

"**Yeah… well, it seems that Hyena blew the secret when she flipped out. Which by the way shouldn't have happened," Xander stared down at the concrete sidewalk.**

**Hyena-Xander subtly shifted forward, blocking out Xander for seconds, "Not that I'm not grateful to her for fighting," she insisted before Xander was once again in charge. It had been such a quick moment he didn't even realize that he'd been subsumed again briefly.**

"**This is… disturbing, Xan. But now that we know, maybe we should talk to Giles and Willow about an exorcism or whatever."**

"**But we're alright the way we are," Xander's voice said, his downcast eyes briefly shining.**

**Spike put his arm around Xander's shoulders and sighed, "No wonder your scent has been doing the funky tango."**

"**We had accommodated each other, but now something weird has happened with Commando-guy," Xander said briefly making eye contact with Spike. When he'd looked down at the sidewalk again, he added, "He's faded out or something."**

"**Commando-guy? You're not hearing the soldier-voice anymore?"**

**Xander gave Spike a confused look, **_**How'd he guess that?**_

"**Uh, no, as a matter of fact. I think that's why Hyena was able to take over during the fight. I mean I saw you getting beaten by the crazy people and I was out numbered and didn't have a decent weapon," Xander leaned into Spike. "I sort of loosened her reigns a bit. She somehow took control."**

"**Must have been adrenaline, I'm sure it can't happen normally," Hyena added in Xander's voice.**

"**But you're okay, now? I mean, she isn't endangering you," Spike asked, his voice full of concern that made both Xanders feel warm.**

"**We're trying to accommodate each other. But I'm worried about this no show from Commando, Spike. We were kinda just becoming a 'unity' deal. I don't know how his sudden 'absence' if that is what's happened, affects us."**

"**We need to bring this up to the witch and the Watcher."**

"**Yeah," Xander said. "I'm not sure how Hyena will react if they try to banish her, though. I don't entirely trust her."**

"**Yet. But I think we can work with each other," he added suddenly.**

"**We'll talk to the red head and see where we are," Spike decided. "Now let's get you inside. I want to patrol, see if I can't find this robo-dork."**

"**Don't take him on by yourself, Spike," Xander insisted. "Buffy had a hard time with him. Plus, you're part of a unit now. We don't put ourselves in danger for kicks. You got me?"**

"**I got you, Love," Spike smirked, before laying a kiss on Xander that left him breathless.**

**When they started for the apartment again, Xander couldn't resist taunting his alter-personality. **_**Willow and Giles are going to free me from you, you bitch.**_

**Hyena's only reply to Xander was to growl in frustration. But in the portion of his mind that was no longer accessible to him, she thought back, **_**I wouldn't bet on that Xander. If it comes down to it, I'll take you with me.**_

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**At the Summers' house, Tara was in the basement. Dawn was working on her Social Studies assignment in the living room, while Willow was upstairs soaking in a hot tub. Tara was using the quiet time to run a load of laundry. It was amazing how fast the three of them went through clothes.**

**As the washer started its first cycle, she went to separating out another pile of dirty clothes. Against a wall stood the makeshift table that they'd laid Buffy's body on and Tara felt a pang of grief looking at it. It was now the home of Willow's laptop and various strips of wiring and a soldering iron. Nearby, April sat propped up against the cement wall. Her abdomen was uncovered and the synthetic skin torn away from her innards. It gave Tara the creeps, but it was also sort of fascinating to see what went on inside the robots.**

**Tara dropped the bed sheets she had been sifting through and walked over to April. Stooping, she looked closely at the internal make up of the phony girl and felt a mixture of awe and admiration that Willow was able to make any sense of the spaghetti she saw.**

**With a smile, she stood and then casually opened Willow's laptop. The smile on her face froze for an instant before turning into a confused frown. As she read through the web page displayed and began opening the half-dozen additional web browser windows an icy breeze seemed to flow through her insides. The blood drained from her face as she found herself reading a supplication to Osiris to return the dead.**

_**She couldn't, **_**Tara shook her head. It was impossible. Except for zombies and ghosts, and poltergeists, and wraiths… well, except for evil things; it was impossible to bring the dead back to life. It just couldn't be done. They'd already had this discussion after Joyce had passed. **_**She wouldn't….**_

**Tara took off at a run for the basement steps. She had to get to Willow and stop this right now before she did something that none of them could live with!**

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**Giles pulled his sports car into his parking space at his apartment. He sat for a moment and listened to the ticking of the engine and the soft sounds of Bach from the radio. A smile played about his mouth; it had felt good to feel the old rush of a meeting. Seeing the children banding together to investigate the next supernatural threat.**

**He stopped smiling when he thought, again, of Buffy. **

_**You should be here, **_**he winced. With resolve, he shook the shadow of grief away. They all needed to move on and they would be alright without her. They would have to be. This constant focus on his pain was self-indulgent and he would cease such selfishness immediately.**

**He stepped out of his car and started for his walkway to the door, when he felt himself tackled to the ground. He felt a man's weight pinning him to the ground, a growling from behind him.**

**Struggling, he was just able to turn enough to see a vampire and thought: **_**Well, that was brilliant. Good show, Giles!**_

**As he began to struggle with the superior strength of the demon atop him, the thing hissed at him annoyed, "Quit fighting me! I'm hungry!"**

"**Oh, yes… of course," he replied facetiously. "How rude of me not to acquiesce!"**

**Giles desperately rolled around on the ground, partially getting the beast off of him. He could tell by the thing's lack of strength that it was a fledgling. One of the many newly minted creatures that they'd destroyed weekly. With some more struggling he was able to get to the crucifix in his front shirt pocket. **

**As the thing helpfully rolled him over in order to straddle him, he stuck the cross out toward its face. The demon hissed and jumped from his prone body, backing away with a mixture of fear and rage.**

**He sat up, angry at himself for leaving his stake in the car. **

_**Your Slayer dies and you turn into a senile, old man, **_**he berated himself.**

**As the thing turned and took off, Giles blacked out for a moment. **

**Ripper eyed the creature as it made to dash away and find some other innocent blood to spill. With a feeling of loathing, he pointed an index finger at the vampire's retreating back. With a cry in Turkish, he sent a small fireball crashing into the beast's back. Instantly fire engulfed the thing and with a screech it faded into dust.**

**Giles came back to himself, dizzy and looked around in a panic for the monster. Fortunately, his lack of cognizance had gone unnoticed by the vampire. But unfortunately, that still left a blood drinker out there to terrorize someone else. He ran to his apartment and dialed Xander's phone in hopes that perhaps Spike could try to locate and dispatch the thing.**

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**After checking on Dawn's homework progress and making sure she wasn't watching television, Tara made her way upstairs to Joyce's bathroom. With a gentle knock, she opened the door to find Willow snoring softly in the tub of water. **

**She bit her lip, not wanting to wake Willow when she hadn't been sleeping since the night Buffy had died. On the other hand, what she was researching was serious business. She sighed once with indecision, but then backed out of the bathroom. She knew she had to confront her about this resurrection garbage, but it could wait until later.**

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End Chapter 9


	10. Getting Back to Things

**Rebuilding**

Ch 10 – Getting Back to Things

**Several days later and the gang were still trying to accommodate Buffy's absence. It had been twelve days since Buffy's burial.**

_**Will we ever reach the day when I don't measure time like that anymore, **_**Spike thought to himself. He was lying in Xander's bed in the small room with no windows. Xander was at work and Dawn was at school, both of them outside of his protection and he didn't like it.**

**Especially, since there was a new vampire in town that had him feeling uneasy. Whoever it was, they were trying to lay pretty low, but Giles had mentioned there'd been a few bodies found. They'd had their throats ripped open, all of them male. It was an unusually violent show, not to mention the waste of blood that such gaping wounds would cause. The gang had already tried to find any sort of demons who practiced such an M.O. but when Spike and Willow had broken into the funeral home to check on one of the bodies, it all screamed 'vampire' to him.**

**In addition to this new vampire, the search for Adam wasn't going so well. The ruins of the 'Magic Box' had been disturbed as if someone had been looking for something. And another hit was performed at the local museum with the same M.O. as the others that Adam was involved in. The security system was disabled, the crooks broke into a secured door and they'd been interested in very specific items… in this case a large diamond on a public tour.**

**It was baffling what they'd want with it. Unless he or she was just a collector; the diamond was too well known to just pawn. And it didn't seem to fit with the other robberies which seemed to be more focused on specific items only useful to a mage with the money being taken almost as an afterthought. Spike couldn't come up with any rituals that would require a large diamond, though of course, that wasn't really his area. He had to hope that Tara and Willow came up with a lead.**

**Finally, there was the disturbing aggression he'd been feeling lately toward Xander. They'd progressed from yanking each other's pull toys to some oral play, but Spike was beginning to feel his demon rising when things began to get too heated between them. He wanted to yank Xan over and bugger him 'til he screamed. Thankfully, he was confident in the chip stopping him from hurting his human lover, but the fact he was feeling so edgy could end up dangerous. This morning in the shower, he'd also been transfixed by Dracula's bite mark. He wanted to obliterate it with his own bite, leaving his ownership over Xan clear and unambiguous. Again… dangerous; natural for a vampire-human consort relationship, but not what they were supposed to be about. He hadn't brought up these things, however; he didn't need Xander afraid of him.**

**He sighed, rolling over onto his stomach and bunching at his pillows, struggling to get comfortable. He wanted to be awake and refreshed when Dawn came over after school and he wasn't going to be if he didn't enter the coma-like sleep very soon.**

**But his mind seemed to keep returning to those young men with the torn throats. It was bothering him in a vague way he couldn't quite put his mental finger on. Something about it seemed distantly familiar.**

**Well, it would come to him. Right now, he was more worried about Xander Harris. Not just his own impulses, but what he'd found out a few nights ago. He was determined to bring it up at the next meeting set for Friday. Xander kept saying that he didn't want to make a big deal of it, which was weird because Spike would have thought he'd be more upset by this alternate 'animal-spirit' personality than he seemed to be. Of course, he'd had months to get used to it when he was being kept silent. Still, they needed to at least investigate what exactly had gone awry with the re-uniting spell and what, if anything, they should do about it now.**

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**Ripper sat on the bed stroking, almost sexually, the large tome in his hands. With a reluctant sigh, he replaced it into its invisible chest and re-enabled its protective magicks. The pick-me-up was just what he needed, but he still had trouble absorbing more than just a small bit of the potential power with the Book of Midnight. The mage who'd created it must have been a prodigy in wizardry. It was almost heartbreaking that he couldn't use the entire potential locked within its bleak pages. With a last glance at the bottom of the closet, he limped down the stairs from his bedroom.**

**Moments later, Giles perused the morning newspaper, keeping one eye on the mid-morning Sunnydale newsbreak on the television. He and the others had begun to establish a routine. He gathered odd occurrences, as he had for Buffy, and then planned out a patrol for the Buffy and April robots (whom he refused to refer to as Faith, despite Willow's sense of whimsy). When they returned at dawn, they would give a full report to Tara and Willow before the ladies headed off to their college courses. Tara then typed up a report for him, highlighting anything unusual that they'd found or fought.**

**In the meantime, Spike had also begun to patrol more. So between the three of them, the rampaging demon community was being thinned out nicely, while the more peaceable were keeping low profiles.**

**Now, all they had to do was find this rather vicious vampire that seemed to be making the rounds of Sunnydale. So far, they had four bodies, all of which were younger men. They'd each had bite marks that hadn't stopped at feeding, but had literally torn the flesh from the body. It was a rather brutal and wasteful way of going about getting blood, but nevertheless, if Spike stated it was definitely a vampire, then Giles could accept that. **

**The other priority was these odd robberies by Adam, or whoever had control over it. Buffy had stated that the last time she fought with the brute that he'd been more robotic than usual. With the sketchy eyewitness accounts passed onto him by Rick, it didn't appear that Adam was much more than an electronic zombie at this point. Still dangerous, of course; there was no need to underestimate its strength, but obviously there were other brains behind these operations.**

**At least Willow had been able to bring the robots online. Despite her lack of expertise in programming, they hadn't needed Warren Meers, after all. Which was fortunate considering that he'd dropped off the face of the Earth. Giles had already begun to wonder if perhaps Warren's disappearance and Adam's reappearance weren't connected in some way. After all, he'd been responsible for the creation of both Buffybot and April… if anyone could utilize the deactivated Adam, it was certainly him. That led to the question, how was it that Adam wasn't still deactivated? Riley had seen the body carried away by the Initiative scientists that had been changed into vampires, but Buffy was able to defeat them. And vampires didn't seem to have much use for the spell ingredients and money that had been stolen. They certainly wouldn't care much for the huge diamond that had just been taken in the latest robbery of the Sunnydale Museum.**

**After everything that had been lost from it over the past few years, you'd think that no one would allow their precious things to be shown here. Giles grimly smiled to himself at the thought when the phone rang. The grim smile turned to a grim frown when the user ID showed it was an international call.**

"**Hello, Rupert Giles speaking," he said with no enthusiasm upon answering.**

"**Hello, Mr. Giles! This is Ian Bladesworth with the Council."**

"**Yes, Mr. Bladesworth, what can I do for you?" Ian was a sort of executive secretary and surrogate, all around pain-in-the-arse for Quentin Travers.**

"**I'm just giving you a ring to let you know that Mr. Travers is on his way to the United States as we speak, sir. He requests that you have, uh, one Buffy Summers, Slayer ready to present an in-person report on the Glory matter, sir." **

**Ian gave him a small chuckle of amusement; "Buffy? Really?"**

"**When is Quentin due to arrive in Sunnydale," Giles said while struggling to keep the worry out of his voice. From his time at the Council, Giles knew that Ian was nearly empathic when it came to other people.**

"**He wants to investigate this outfit involving Buffy's former-beau," Ian stated with obvious distaste and derision. Angel had no fans back at the Council and many also held Giles personally responsible for the entire Acathla affair for 'allowing' the Slayer's involvement with him. To be fair, the vast majority of them had never met Buffy. 'Allowing' wasn't really a factor when it had come to her. **

"**He isn't going there with another Black Operations group is he? Wes is there now and by all accounts they are doing good work."**

"**As far as I know, there's to be no direct contact between the Council and, uh, 'Angel Investigations'… how original," he stated drolly. "However, I'm sure I need not tell you that Wesley Wyndham-Pryce's word holds little currency here. I would not take anything he says at face value, Mr. Giles."**

**Mr. Giles wanted to tell the wanker to piss off, but held his tongue. The important thing was that the Council wasn't planning another operation. Or at least, he hoped not. Obviously, he would call Cordelia immediately to warn her, however.**

"**Y-yes, well, back to the main point. Quentin's arrival," Giles questioned. His mind was already filling with dread. Of course, they all knew this was a distinct possibility and had been preparing for it. He could only hope that Buffybot was truly ready to pretend to be her namesake.**

"**Oh, I should imagine Friday morning, sir. I have so much to do, so must ring off, but give my personal congratulations to Buffy for her latest victory, Old Man. Ta-ta!"**

**Giles hung up the phone with a grim look. **_**I'm sure Buffy would care about the 'personal congratulations' of a Council toady, **_**he thought a little sourly. **_**And the 'old man' comment was entirely unnecessary!**_

**With a sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed Xander.**

"**Hello, Xander. This is Giles. I know we agreed to a, ah, 'Scooby' meeting this Friday, but I'm afraid we'll need to meet this evening."**

"**Have you found a lead on our robo-thief or the new vamp?"**

"**No, I'm afraid its different bad news," Giles sighed. "Travers is on his way here."**

"**Shit."**

"**I expressed similar sentiments. Regardless of our feelings, however, we need to re-check the Buffybot's socialization programming. Not to mention the fact that she cannot use her more robotic behaviors while interacting with the Council contingent. In the plus column, he won't be here 'til Friday. That gives us a few days to work out any behavioral kinks."**

"**Okay, no problem Giles. I'm stuck here until about 7 tonight, but I'll head directly to Buffy's from here. I'm going to arrange with Dawn to stay the night at the apartment with Spike so she doesn't have to deal with the fussbudgets, though. Do you think we can keep her out of it," Xander asked. "They tend to upset her and with them talking about Buffy and stuff…."**

"**I completely agree," Giles stated. "I must go now. He's dropping in and spying on Los Angeles. I want to give Cordelia some warning that they're in the neighborhood, so to speak."**

"**You don't think they're going to cause trouble, do you? Not that I care overly much what kind of headache Deadboy gets, but, well, they are on our side. Kind of."**

"**According to my source of information, this is strictly surveillance. And Quentin is far more interested in speaking to 'Buffy' about how she defeated a god."**

"**Okay, Giles. I'll see you tonight."**

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**Tara sat in the cafeteria over her lunch but found she had little appetite. She hated confronting Willow in regards to magic use. She hated arguing, period. But she'd sat for the last couple of days in silence, knowing what she was researching and she couldn't just ignore it. She had to bite the bullet and find out what Will thought she was doing.**

**This afternoon when they got home, Dawn would be at Spike and Xander's. She was determined to have this out without involving the rest of the family. She'd find a way to make Willow see reason and to give up on any crazy notions of bringing Buffy back.**

**She picked up her plate of food, mostly uneaten and dropped it into the trash. **

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**Willow sat in her dorm room reading over print outs. She'd skipped her classes for today so that she could focus on what was important; rescuing Buffy. **

**She'd had more dreams overnight of the Slayer calling to her for help. Buffy had been tied between two posts and some goblin-type demons were whipping her naked back with thorny branches. Her back was raw and bloody and she was crying for Willow to get her out of there.**

**She had woken up with a start at five this morning and she'd been glued to her laptop ever since. Now she read over her screen prints and cross referenced with some of Tara's books that hadn't been moved to Joyce's yet. They still had the room until the end of the semester so they hadn't been in a rush to pack the non-essentials, thankfully. **

**She could get a lot more work done if she didn't have to worry about Tara coming across what she was doing; at least, not until she had decided on their most likely course of action for success. **

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**Much later in the day, Dawn had walked to Xander's apartment. She was biting at her lip and trying to work up her nerve. It wasn't really her fault; not with everything that had been happening in the last few months, but still…. She didn't know how they were going to get her out of trouble.**

**The last thing she needed was ****this**** hanging over her!**

**Using the key that Xander had made for her, she let herself inside and let out a breath of relief to see no one moving about. Spike was still sleeping.**

**Or so she thought. She let out a yell of surprise as he suddenly came out of the bathroom wearing a robe.**

"**Geez, Dawn! Give a bloke a heart attack why don't you," he said grumpily. "Or… at least if my heart was actually working, anyway."**

"**Sorry, Spike. But, you scared the crap out of me! I thought you were still sleeping. It's only, like, ten to four."**

"**I wanted to be up when you got here. You hungry? Want a snack?"**

"**N-no, uh, I'm good. Kind of."**

"**Dawn?"**

"**I'm kind of in trouble, Spike," she sighed. Coming the rest of the way into the apartment, she took off her jacket and shoes. He watched her without comment until she'd gotten herself sat down at the dining room table and pulled a sheet of paper from her backpack.**

"**You better read this," she said, not meeting his eyes.**

**Spike took the sheet from her with a frown of puzzlement. As he read the bureaucratic jargon, he glanced at his Nibblet chewing at her bottom lip.**

"**Don't chew your lip. You'll bleed," he said. "So, according to this, you've been a very bad girl."**

"**No! I mean, not really, just, you know…."**

"**Quote- we have been very disturbed by Dawn's lack of interest in her schoolwork while in school and her penchant for skipping in the afternoons- unquote. That isn't bad," Spike asked her skeptically while doing that eyebrow thing.**

"**I-it's not like they make it sound. Okay, I might have taken off early… ****a few times****! But not, like, in a whole week! That should count for something, right," she winced a bit. She also didn't mention that the only reason she didn't skip classes in the morning was because she was too tired from the sleeping pills still to bother.**

"**I'll let you know after I get somebody without a chip in their heads to tan your hide."**

"**Spike, I'm fifteen! I'm a little old for spankings," she sulked. "And besides, most of what they're complaining about is from right after mom died. I mean, things were really bad then. I just… needed to not be there."**

"**Damn it, Dawn. You think I give a shit about whether you go to school or not? It's a factory for mindless automatons. I can teach you a hell of a lot more than you're ever gonna pick up listening to some droning clod."**

"**Cool. Think you could say that stuff to Xander and Tara?"**

"**And get ****my**** ass tanned? Yeah, right. No way, kid, you've broken the 'rules', you're gonna have to face the music."**

"**I know. But… I mean with everything…."**

"**I know, Bit. And the others know how tough things have been. But, there's no way that the school's gonna let this go without a meeting with Buffy, according to this letter. This is really not good."**

"**I know. I didn't think, alright. I should have stayed in classes and tried harder, at least until I turn sixteen and can drop out."**

"**We'll discuss that later. Right now, we need to make sure that the Buffy robot can pass as big sis long enough to get you out of hot water. It says here that they may need to recommend 'home visits' by a professional. What the hell does that mean?"**

"**I think it means they may want Social Services to drop in on us, Spike. To make sure that Buffy is taking care of me. Maybe Willow can just do a spell? Make them go away?"**

"**I'm not a general fan of magic, Bit. Let me talk to Xan; we'll see if there's something we can do to head them off before we resort to the 'ooga-boogas', okay?"**

"**Spike? I'm really sorry," Dawn said, looking a little afraid and very contrite.**

"**We'll work it out. That's what the Scoobies do. But for the rest of the year, you need to bust ass, you got that? Now, let's get a look at the homework for tonight."**

"**T-they won't take me, will they? I mean, if the robot blows it? They won't send me away somewhere? Foster care, or to Portugal or wherever my dad and his tramp are?"**

"**Over my ash-ed body."**

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End Chapter 10


	11. Getting Back to Scoobying

**Rebuilding**

Ch 11 – Getting Back to Scooby-ing

**When seven-thirty rolled around that evening, Xander finally walked into Buffy's home. A quick hug from Willow and he joined the group, with the exception of Dawn and Spike, seated around the dining table. **

"**So, anything change since I left work," Xander asked.**

"**No, no further news," Giles stated. "However, I'm very worried about Quentin's arrival."**

"**Well, I've spent the last few hours reviewing the 'do not speak about' security folder of Buffybot. I think we'll be okay," Willow said, chewing at her bottom lip. "I'm more afraid of her behavior routines. I'm not sure I can completely compensate for some of her robotic tics… especially that cocking her head thing with the time delay when she's considering a response."**

**Currently, the Buffy robot was sitting on the living room floor powered down. On the coffee table sat Willow's laptop, still connected to the machine-girl's abdomen.**

"**W-we should make sure that Faithbot is nowhere nearby when he arrives as well," Tara added. "Xander, maybe you should take her home tonight and keep her at the apartment until after he leaves?"**

"**Swell; where is she," he replied with no enthusiasm. **

"**She's doing a short patrol," Tara told him. "But I'll have her go to your place when she gets back… or tomorrow if it's late."**

"**How long do these things usually take, Giles," Xander asked while nodding to acknowledge Tara's plan.**

"**A day; perhaps two. I'm afraid it will depend on how much other business Quentin has on his plate. The good news is that his secretary called me. That indicates that he's been too busy to call himself."**

"**How are you, by the way, Mr. Giles," Tara asked. "The ankle?"**

"**Oh! I'm fine, thank you. I get the cast off tomorrow, as a matter of fact. And you? No further discomfort from the hand?"**

**Tara had gotten her cast off that very day.**

"**It still aches some, but they say it's healed. It's nice to be able to scratch an itch on my hand again. And, Spike," she added to Xander.**

"**Oh, he's fully recovered. Vampire healing? We should all have that."**

"**I think Dawn is doing better, too," Tara said. "I mean, her finger has healed pretty straight but more importantly she seems to be recovering from Buffy's loss. I think we all are," this last statement she added while staring intently at Willow.**

"**Y-yes, well," Giles interrupted to get things back on track. "It may be necessary for each of you to answer questions as well. I've b-brought this along…." **

**He pulled out a few stapled packets of paper, handing one to each of them. "This is the final report that I sent to the Watcher's Council. I'll need you to review it. If you should be asked any questions, you'll need to be ready to stick to this timeline of events. Remember, there are things that each of you probably wouldn't have been in a position to see. Just be conscious of that and don't be afraid to answer with 'I'm not sure' or 'I don't remember seeing that'. I'm afraid Quentin will be looking for every minute detail and its important we don't trip up trying to give him the answer he's looking for," he wiped his brow. **

"**Relax, Giles. We've dealt with him before, we'll do it this time, too," Xander replied.**

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**Faithbot patrolled the back alleys of Sunnydale and listened to the crowds wandering down Main Street from the theatre and the restaurants. April's small form and dark clothing allowed her to blend into the dark shadows around her while her ocular scanners scoured the area looking for the smallest signs of movement. So far, there'd been no vampires or other non-human, aggressive lifeforms for her to dispatch, however.**

**With the human equivalent of a 'start' she stopped and cocked her head. Fine tuning her aural detectors she picked up the faintest of creeks and began heading for the source, fifteen meters away and around a corner of the alleyway.**

**Carefully peaking around the corner, she saw a large, lumbering figure which her onboard database identified as 'Target: Adam'. Opening a subfolder she reviewed her response choices: a) Follow, b) Engage, c) Report back to Willow, d) Attempt to over-ride control centers.**

**Faithbot immediately rejected option D. Willow had yet to purchase and install the remote transmitter which would have allowed the attempt. She knew she had an inbuilt access cable which she could use to connect to Adam's receiving port but she had already calculated the chances of Adam allowing her such a connection as less than one percent. Option B was also discounted due to her direct instructions. Unless Adam was actively threatening a human being, she wasn't to engage. Right now, he was standing in a darkened alley in which no one but her was present. Moving to option A and C, she chose Option A. She would follow Adam and ascertain where he goes and only then report this back to Willow.**

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**The Scooby meeting broke up at ten with Xander letting Tara and Willow know that he'd get Dawn to school in the morning. In addition, Faithbot/April would be sent over if she arrived back before eleven-thirty otherwise, they'd wait until tomorrow.**

**When he'd reached the apartment he found it quiet. Peeking into Anya's room, he saw Dawn curled in a ball, snoring softly. A quick glance at the multi-paned window behind the sofa told him that Spike was sitting on the terrace smoking. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, then joined him.**

"**Hey, Baby," he said softly, leaning over to kiss Spike's waiting lips.**

"**How was the big meetin'?"**

"**Boring, mostly. Giles is having a small panic attack over Quentin dropping in on Friday, but we'll be okay." He sighed gratefully as he slid into one of the deck chairs. "I'm afraid, though, we're stuck hosting the April robot until after he leaves."**

"**It follow you in," Spike asked with a glance back into the living room.**

"**She's patrolling. Tara will send her this way when she gets back or tomorrow if she's late. I have a packet for you to look over from Giles."**

**Spike gave him a look, "We have homework, now?"**

"**I know," he chuckled. "But it's basically the story that Giles gave the Council about… uh, what happened ****that night****. We just need to know the basics of it, so we don't trip up and make him suspicious."**

"**I'll read through it tomorrow, then. In the meantime, we have another fire to put out."**

"**Ugh. Now, what," Xander groaned.**

"**Bit has gotten herself in a bind at school. Read this," he said pushing a folded sheet of paper that Xander hadn't noted across the patio table.**

**Once he'd read it and put it back down, he rubbed his eyes. "Swell. Have you thought of a way out of a Buffybot-Parent/Teacher meeting?"**

"**Dawn thinks we should just throw a spell."**

"**You sound less than enamored with the suggestion," Xander pointed out.**

"**Magic is unpredictable. There's a reason we didn't go much into rituals when I was playing on the bad team. Besides, simpler is always better."**

"**So? You think we can risk the 'Bot talking to them?"**

"**Not by itself. But we send Rupes to deal with this with her… I think it'll work out alright."**

"**I was thinking that I'd go talk to them," Xander said.**

"**Better Rupert, Xan."**

"**Why," he questioned. For some reason he felt just a little insulted. He was practically taking care of Dawn, anyway… well, with help from Willow and Tara.**

"**Simple… Rupert is used to dealing with the brain dead bureaucracy. He knows how to talk to 'em on their own terms. Send him in and by the time the meeting is over, Dawn more than likely will be nominated 'student of the year'."**

"**I guess that makes sense. I'll have to call him tomorrow and we'll have Buffybot arrange a meeting for next week. That way the Council will be out of our way and Giles won't be distracted," Xander reasoned.**

"**Sounds like a plan," Spike agreed. "I'm not letting them take her, Xan. I don't care who I have to hurt."**

"**Let's relax a bit. It's just a meeting and Giles will be able to smooth their feathers."**

"**I don't know," Spike said worriedly. "There's a strong hint in there of Social Services. If there's anything I know after over a century of existence, it's that government involvement in anything is never a cause to celebrate."**

"**We'll deal. I'm not worried. If Giles can keep a lid on the Council's interference, then he can take care of a school principal. Especially one as overworked as Ms. Portlynn. She's not only dealing with the junior high age group, but the high schoolers like Dawn and even older students, at least until the new High School gets funded and built. I'm sure she just wants this to go away as badly as the rest of us," Xander tried to assure him.**

"**I hope you're right, Xan. I really do."**

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**Once everyone had left, Tara pulled Willow down onto the couch and gave her a lingering kiss. Willow had just begun to think that they were going to fool around a little, when Tara stroked her hair and got a serious look on her face.**

"**What," she asked the blonde.**

"**Will… I saw what was on the laptop when you were in the basement a few days ago."**

**There were several moments of utter silence. The only sound was the breeze outside and the ticking of a clock from the mantle in the dining room.**

"**The programming," Willow asked innocently.**

"**No, and you know that's not what I'm talking about," Tara sighed while frowning. "We need to talk about this, Will. I thought we'd gotten past this sort of thinking."**

**Willow stood up suddenly and started to pace the living room floor while Tara waited for her to say something. **

"**That was different," Willow finally said.**

"**Will, we can't bring Buffy back."**

"**Yes, we can," Willow turned and faced Tara. **

**Tara's breath caught in her throat at the intensity of Willow's glare. She looked like a zealot about to preach and Tara grew even more worried than she'd started out.**

"**Will…?"**

"**She came to me, Tara. She came to me and she needs us," Willow exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes.**

"**I-I don't understand."**

"**Buffy has been coming to me in my dreams; she's crying for help. A-and I'm not just gonna leave her…." Willow's tears began falling and Tara caught the hitch in her breath. Wiping angrily at them, Willow told her, "She's in trouble, Tara!"**

**Tara swallowed over the lump in her throat, trying to understand what was happening here. She tried a little bit of logic, "Will, Buffy is dead. She's not in trouble; she's, uh, you know… dead."**

"**She's in Hell, Tara. I know it! I saw it!"**

"**Baby!? No… that doesn't make sense. She couldn't be… where did you get an idea like that? Is that why you never sleep? God, Willow, why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares like this?!"**

"**You don't get it! They weren't nightmares! It's Buffy… she's screaming for help," Willow collapsed onto the floor. Burying her head in Tara's lap she released her fear and horror at her best friend's fate that she had been holding in for weeks.**

**Tara stroked Willow's head and listened to her nearly frantic cries, unable to figure out how to fix things for her. Obviously, she had gotten it into her head that Buffy was suffering but that couldn't be so. Buffy died a hero… she'd have to go to Heaven, wouldn't she? She thought about her last moments and the portal that was shimmering and spinning in the air above them all came to her so clearly that it stole her breath.**

_**The portal? Glory was going to use that portal to go to her Hell. Buffy jumped into it, but… but her body landed on the ground. She didn't go anywhere…**_** she thought with desperation. **_**No, she couldn't have… it was a physical gateway; her soul wouldn't have been displaced?!**_

"**Tara," Willow glanced up and met her eyes. "I ****know**** it was Buffy. She died in Glory's portal and she… they're making her pay. Please help me!"**

"**Oh, Goddess," Tara whispered, horrified.**

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End Chapter 11


	12. Night Moves

**Rebuilding**

Ch 12 – Night Moves

**Faithbot recorded Adam as he snapped the lock off of the comic book store and entered. Her audio sensors recorded no human signs of alarm and she experienced something akin to disappointment. She wanted to engage her battle programming, as a Slayer should.**

**When he left the comic shop carrying assorted plastic figures in their see-through boxes, she puzzled over the tactical purpose for them. Slowly she followed, always keeping exactly twenty-two feet behind to avoid the large humanoid from detecting her presence.**

**It was one hour and forty-five minutes later when she arrived outside the confines of a rusted out ore processing plant that appeared to have been abandoned for years, if not decades. Waiting until Adam was well inside, Faithbot scanned the interior with her audible sensing equipment and detected three human voices, all male and all sounding young. She tensed for action, but instead of hearing sounds of fright it seemed that the young men were excited to have Adam in their midst. A moment later she identified a voice that rung her deep internal programming that Willow hadn't been able to completely erase: she recognized Warren.**

**As if a remote control switch had been thrown, Faithbot found herself violating the twenty-two feet rule and marched into the facility. Her visual sensors found dim lighting at the far end of a large room filled with abandoned and rusted equipment and conveyor infrastructure.**

"**Intruder alert," Adam said suddenly, interrupting the boy's excited exclamations over the mint condition Star Wars action figures he'd delivered. His voice was flat… mechanical and without any interest.**

**All three humans spun toward the entrance of their secret headquarters (nicknamed 'The Cantina' by Andrew) and found themselves confronted with a short girl with long, brown hair and large, dark eyes. She was dressed in dark green khakis and black boots. She also wore a dark leather jacket over a black shirt.**

"**W-warren," the girl questioned, sounding unsure and confused.**

"**April?"**

"**April? Who is April," Andrew asked sounding a bit peeved as he turned his attention to code named: Obi Wan.**

"**My name is Faith," April responded. "And you are engaged in illegal activity utilizing a supernatural zombie. Prepare for battle." She assumed a defensive stance, arms raised and ready.**

"**Oh, crap! Faith is the other Slayer," Jonathon exclaimed. "We're so going to get our asses kicked!"**

"**Relax guys." Warren took two steps toward 'Faith' and began to speak as if to a little girl. "April… you remember me. It's Warren. It's ****your**** Warren. Put down your arms and wait to receive further instructions."**

**April had a confused expression on her face, but didn't lower her arms. When he took another step in her direction, her expression changed to a glare.**

"**I'm Faith, the Vampire Slayer! Surrender or get a beat down," she nearly growled.**

"**Warren," Andrew whined questioningly, while Jonathon backed away.**

"**Let's sic Adam on her," Jon suggested.**

"**I've got this under control," Warren shot back over his shoulder. To April, he stated, "Faith, I want you to listen now: activate over-ride code W-Cylon-0-1-2-3-Blue."**

"**Complying," April stated. Almost immediately her eyes went as blank as any doll's. Her entire posture seemed to sag and she stood stock still as Warren walked up to her. When he waved his hands in front of her eyes, there was no response.**

"**Wow. What did you do to her," Jonathon said.**

"**And how do you know this leather-wearing tramp, anyway," Andrew asked.**

"**It's not a 'she'. Well, I mean, it is sort of a 'she', but she's a robot guys. One of my robots, in fact. I just had her go into emergency stand by mode. I wasn't sure it would work… it's one of the quirks that never worked out well when I had her finished." **

**Warren looked at the machine thoughtfully as Andrew and Jonathon joined him. "The real question," he said, "Is why she's calling herself Faith, now. The last time I saw her, she was fighting Buffy."**

"**W-what are we going to do with her," Jon asked.**

"**We should tear her to scrap before she… I don't know… wakes up," Andrew suggested, glaring at the robot.**

"**Short-round, power up my laptop," Warren ordered. "Obviously there've been some alterations… I can guess by Willow."**

"**What are you thinking," Andrew asked.**

"**I think we've just found ourselves a mole inside the Scooby-gang," Warren smiled at him.**

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**Vanessa Reston sat in a rough bar surrounded by men with too much hair and a distinct lack of social grace. It was appalling, really, but Sunnydale closed down so early on week nights that she was having trouble finding a more appropriate 'beau' for the night. **

**She sipped at her whiskey, straight, and felt an overwhelming sense of boredom with her plan. So far she'd only actually laid eyes on Spike once but she wasn't able to confront and capture him because he was with some girl. No doubt his victim for the night though what they were doing visiting a morgue left her puzzled. Perhaps, he had already turned someone else?**

**If she didn't know any better, she might think she had been jealous when she'd noticed the red-head. Of course that was ridiculous. She didn't have any feelings for Spike; not even sire-sired love was left. She only felt a sense of disgust and a want for revenge, she was determined to believe.**

_**So, why am I sitting here nursing another drink instead of grabbing one of these humans and going home? Why do I feel so… blue? Am I actually hurt that he hadn't even sensed my presence?**_

**She thought perhaps she was. Maybe. A little bit. Spike should have immediately felt her nearby as she had detected him before actually espying him. But it was obvious he hadn't. **

**She sighed and ordered another from the fat, old bartender. When the fifth guy of the night tried to talk her up, she waved him away. This whole night wasn't turning out the way she had planned it.**

**After downing the drink and throwing a ten on the bar's counter, she got up and walked out ignoring the glares of the few women and the desire of the men's stares. It turned out that she didn't want to take a man home after all. She'd just have to grab something on the way back to the abandoned inn.**

**Her night seemed to turn around when she noted a preppy looking man and woman loading two girls into a mini-van. Looking around to see the street deserted, she suddenly had an inspiration. It was time to step up the pressure on her hated Sire. **

**She had a new plan of action in mind and approached the couple with a huge, hungry smile.**

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**It was around midnight when Giles went to bed, worrying over the coming Friday with Quentin. He tossed and turned for awhile before he finally got comfortable enough to drift off.**

**Once he'd reached a deep sleep, his eyes shot open and he got up. His eyes were strangely dark as he pulled on a new set of clothes and left his apartment.**

**Ripper went searching for a woman for the evening.**

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**At the apartment, Dawn was sleeping in Anya's room and Spike listened from the bed he shared with Xander. When he was sure that she was deeply asleep, he nodded to Xan with a smile and welcomed him into his arms.**

**Xander's mouth was hot and needy against his and his large, warm hands were roaming his cool chest. He loved the heat of the contact and pulled at Xander's shirt to get it off. **

**His scent filled Spike's nostrils and added to his lust. Pulling the shirt from the human's torso and throwing it across the tiny room, he darted his head forward under Xan's arm and pulled in a deep breath. Sifting the scent of deodorant and discarding it, he focused his attention on the musky smell of the real Xan. Flicking out his tongue his licked and sucked at Xan's skin, eliciting a deep moan from the young man that only made his dick harder.**

**Flipping Xan onto the mattress on his back, he covered him and began a slow and sensual grinding of their groins together as now hot hands grabbed and kneaded his ass through his too tight jeans.**

"**God, Xan… you feel so good! So warm," Spike whispered into his ear.**

"**Spike…," Xan panted, but couldn't complete whatever thought he'd wanted to voice.**

**The vampire licked long strokes up Xander's neck, sucking gently on the pulse point of the throat and feeling the hot, salty goodness that pumped away under the skin. Without meaning to, Spike shifted into vamp-face and rubbed the fangs against the tender skin.**

**Xan groaned as he stretched to rub his neck against the vampire's teeth. At the same time he began to arch his back up and down, increasing the contact between their groins.**

**Rubbing his hands against Spike's back, he managed to tell him to take their pants off. As he sat up to comply, Xan attacked his nipples with his own teeth. **

"**I love you," he said against the pale skin.**

"**I know. I love you, Xander," Spike whispered as he struggled to control himself. He wanted to tear the resistant denim from the man before him, and certainly had the strength. But he had already complained that morning about the third ripped shirt he needed to replace.**

**Again, they lined up their bodies so that each of their cocks was lined with one another. This time silky cool skin came into direct contact with hot and sweat-slicked causing moans of pleasure from both participants. Spike set a rapid rhythm and reveled in the sounds of Xander's breath near his ear and the comfort he felt with his ridged brow and fangs. It made it easier and therefore more enjoyable that he didn't need to repress his real face and in a weird way made it less likely he'd lose control.**

"**Spike…." Xander gasped as Spike felt his muscles tense underneath him. "Bite me…!"**

"**What?!" The moving of their bodies against each other came to an abrupt stop as Spike stared down into Xander's flushed face.**

"**Bite me… sink your fangs in," he moaned with frustration at the cessation of sensation.**

"**Don't say that! Don't ever invite a vampire to do that, Harris!"**

**Xander gazed up at the vampire and Spike tensed uncertainly. The human's scent had just undergone a dramatic shift and left him confused of what was happening. Gone was the scent of dark chocolate, though sunshine remained. But now there was something animal in the musk, a tantalizing odor to be sure but one that put the vampire immediately on edge.**

**The boy's eyes were also a weird shade. They almost gleamed in the light from the alarm clock near the bed and were more amber than Xander's true dark brown.**

**Spike leapt from the bed, his erection gone and growled down at the imposter in their bed. Xander's body shifted to sit up against the bunched pillows leaning on the wall. The cheap bed didn't have a headboard. He lounged there, casually stroking his still quite prominent hardness.**

"**What's the matter, vampire? You know you want it," his voice said huskily.**

"**You ain't Xan. Where is he," Spike growled menacingly.**

"**Oh, he's here somewhere. But he can't give you what you want, Spike. You can't bite a man… but a Hyena? Well… let's see what the chip makes of that."**

"**Stop it!" Spike backed away until he felt his rear bounce against their closed door. With a fierce concentration, he shifted to his human face hoping that it would help him stay in touch with the echo of William. Because the demon was clawing at his insides… he could feel the powerful temptation to claim what he really wanted. **

"**Stop fighting me, Spike. He'll will be fine and we're both alike, you and I. We both like it rough."**

"**That's not the way things are with Xan and I. He's not ready for pushing the envelope. And I'm not interested in sex with you."**

"**You don't sound very certain of that," Hyena chuckled with her unnerving version of a cackle. "Look at you, you're nearly shaking. Stop resisting this, Spike. We can both get what we want."**

"**I don't ****want**** to hurt him. I don't need that."**

"**But you do like it. And you can say it as many times as you want, but I can feel you holding back… you want to squeeze him; to bruise him, and yes… to bite him hard."**

"**No…," Spike shook his head, but his voice sounded weak.**

"**Spike, you can't put a claim mark on him as long as he's in charge. At least, I don't think you'll be able to. But with me here; I think it'll work. You know as well as I do that the claim mark is important… both to you and to me. I want us to be owned by you and I want to own you, too." Hyena shifted forward onto her right hand and both knees. She still sported Xander's hardness and began lightly stroking it again with her left and savoring the slickness against the shaft of the pre-cum that dripped from it.**

"**Take me, Spike."**

**Spike stood transfixed on the body of his lover and felt his resolve weakening. He didn't know how far this could go, if he could stop. He'd never tried to consort with anyone before.**

"**If I start, I might not stop," he admitted, his voice quaking in a most un-Spike way. "I could kill him," he nearly pleaded. "I can't take that risk!"**

"**I'll stop you if I need to," Hyena said with no doubt in her inflection.**

**Spike's jaw bunched as he gritted his teeth with the effort not to give into the thing in front of him. It was hard to resist his nature, but for Xander, he'd do it. Turning away with a grimace and groan of frustration, he plowed his fist into the door, causing it to crack down its center. **

**Before Hyena could respond any further, he ripped the door open and rushed naked into the living room beyond. Going straight to the phone, he dialed up Buffy's phone number.**

_**This ends now,**_** he thought as he stabbed a finger into the dial pad.**

**When Willow answered, sounding exhausted he said simply, "Come to Xander's."**

"**Spike?"**

"**We're in trouble, Red," he hung up and slid down the waist high wall of the kitchen counter and to the floor. Wrapping arms around the knees held against his chest, he closed his eyes and focused on breathing in and out. The sound of the useless air moving inside dead lungs became his world as he struggled to be the Spike again that the Scooby Gang needed him to be; that Xander trusted.**

**Mere minutes later, the mortal emerged from the bedroom in his jeans and nothing else. He glanced nervously at Anya's room, expecting Dawn to emerge at any moment. He had heard Spike's voice on the phone and a glance at the clock revealed to him that he'd fallen asleep as it was later than he remembered. Confused because he remembered they were having sex and he didn't recall 'finishing', he stared at Spike on the floor, naked and, was he shivering? **

"**Spike, what are you doing," he whispered urgently. "Dawn could come out and get an eyeful, for God's sake!"**

"**Xan…," Spike looked over and saw dark brown eyes and a very confused look. A deep breath revealed the scent of the 'new' Xander, with far less of the animal muskiness that had permeated the bedroom, though it never went away completely.**

**He took a few steps in his direction, but he held up a refraining hand. "Don't come near me! Xan… just stay there… please. Let me make sure I'm in control of myself, Luv."**

"**Spike," he said, still lost as to what was happening. He glanced at Anya's door again, but apparently Dawn was sleeping deeply, thank goodness. "Spike, what happened? Are you alright?"**

"**Hyena happened, Baby. Just… stay away, okay? Red is on her way."**

**Xander backed away and fell heavily onto the sofa and wondered what his alter-ego had done. Minutes later when he realized that she must have overtaken him again, this time without him even consciously loosening her mental reins, the fear came. It was obvious he'd been fooling himself… he wasn't in as much control as he had led himself to believe.**

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**When a bleary eyed Willow and Tara arrived, they found Xander hunched in on himself on the sofa with Dawn sitting next to him. One hand was laid comfortingly on his bare shoulder. Spike answered the door in an ill-fitting robe… obviously Xander's. As he ushered them in, he sat himself across the room from the other two on one of the dining room chairs.**

"**Hey guys," Dawn greeted them. "Now that you're here, I need to try to get some more sleep. I can't afford to skip school tomorrow. Or ever again, apparently."**

**She gave Tara a kiss on the cheek and then hugged Willow. **

**When she went to approach Spike, he leaned back in the chair with a flinch and looked away.**

"**It'll be alright, Spike. Willow and Tara can fix anything," she said. He refused to meet her eyes and she thought she might cry on his behalf if she didn't get out of the room. They'd told her only that Xander's hyena-spirit was still hanging around in his head and she must've done something to really upset them. After the initial shock, she just felt worry. She remembered the weirdness the last time that Xander had personality-issues.**

"**Okay… so… what's the urgent," Willow asked after Dawn had gone back in Anya's room.**

"**You start Xan," Spike said in a hushed tone. "I'm going to heat a tea pot for a cuppa. I think we could use it."**

"**You better sit, girls. There've been some things that have been going on that you're not aware of," Xander sighed.**

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End Chapter 12


	13. Round Robin Secreting

**Rebuilding**

Ch 13 – Round Robin Secreting

**It was two days later, the dreaded Friday and the mood of all of the gang had become more morose and worried. **

**Tara and Willow had agreed that they couldn't burden the gang, especially Giles and Dawn, with what they'd come to suspect about Buffy's predicament. That left both of them under a tremendous amount of pressure. Suddenly Tara could understand why Willow seemed so stretched beyond her limit. In addition to the robot issues that only she was qualified to tackle, she had been suffering the horror and guilt alone of Buffy being in torment.**

**Tara didn't want to believe that it was true, but she couldn't stop herself from getting wrapped up in Willow's terror and pain. With them needing to shield the rest of the gang, she'd taken it as her personal responsibility to assist Willow in finding a way to rescue Buffy if they needed to. In the meantime, she had begun to research Slayer lore in alternate resources, trying to find proof that Willow was wrong without her girlfriend and partner getting wind of what she was up to. She hated going behind Will's back, but what they were talking about was some heavy-duty magic, here. The risks were enormous and that was something that Willow rarely, if ever, actually considered. Tara had to know for her own sake that Buffy was really in trouble before she could allow herself to participate in such dangerous action.**

**Willow, Tara, Dawn and Spike had agreed with Xander to keep his issue with the Hyena-personality from Giles. At least until after Quentin's visit. He had taken Buffy's death so hard and none of them were convinced that he wasn't spending his evenings alone in that apartment with his scotch bottles. They didn't want to burden him any further at the moment.**

**The fact that they also didn't want the robots saying anything by mistake around him meant that they couldn't talk about it around the apartment, either. April, or Faithbot, had made it back home in the wee-hours of Thursday and had taken up residence later that day and would be an unwanted 'houseguest' until after Quentin left town. **

**Spike had taken to staying up all night and sleeping during the day, avoiding sharing intimate space with Xander. Not that he didn't understand it, but it made things tense for Xan and he couldn't help but feel some resentment that Spike still didn't trust himself that he'd changed; that he wasn't a danger to him, no matter what provocation Hyena tried.**

**Xander had berated Hyena in his skull and the two of them had stopped talking. Hyena felt completely justified in enjoying Spike's desires as well, since in her mind, she was the reason why they'd gotten together in the first place. She was angry at Spike's rejection and resentful of Xander's 'selfishness' in trying to stay in control all of the time. Finally, she was getting a bit sick of hearing her host's thought projections still looking for the weeks-gone Commando-boy.**

**Of course with the threat of a Hyena takeover at any moment, Xander also wasn't sleeping well and was turning impatient and bad-tempered. Especially with Spike's constant guarded looks as if Hyena was about to impersonate him at any minute. More than once he'd had to bite his tongue not to tell Spike to pack his shit and get out if he was that worried over it. He wanted Willow to get with the magic-works, but she was acting unusually reticent about casting any spells to take care of the problem. He could only hope that once the Watchers Council was out of the way again, that Giles would have some ideas.**

**Hyena's constant threats to take him out with her weren't helping him. This fact he was keeping from everyone else and it only added to the unconscious, collective strain among the group. **

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**Giles read the morning paper article again. An entire family had disappeared, their van left with doors ajar only three blocks from his place. Apparently, the relative quiet caused by Glory's presence in town was well and truly over. He jotted notes for the next Scooby meeting, which was tentatively scheduled for tonight depending on Quentin's agenda.**

**When a knock came at the door, Giles grimaced. He knew who it would be and felt his insides clench with tension. Wanting to ignore whoever was there, but knowing that would only invite more trouble, he answered it with an insincere smile.**

"**Quentin. Welcome back to Sunnydale," he said as friendly as possible as he stepped out of the way to invite his boss in.**

"**Thank you, Rupert. And congratulations on stopping Glorificus and her machinations."**

"**Please, do sit. I have a kettle on already. Let me get you tea."**

"**I would appreciate a good cup. American tea is a gross tragedy," Quentin replied.**

"**Y-yes… quite."**

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**Dawn looked at the test score circled in red at the top of her paper. She sighed while rubbing her dry eyes and tried to stifle another yawn. Without the sleeping pill hangover, she thought she'd feel better, but without them she slept a lot less. **

_**Damned if I do and damned if I don't, **_**she thought.**

_**And another 'D' is not going to help smooth things with the principle**_**, she sighed. She had felt better after she'd talked to Xander and found out that they were going to have Giles schedule a meeting via the robot. Not only would he keep the Buffybot from blurting out something inappropriate, but he would know how to settle the principal down before she did something wacky… like report her 'lack of a stable home life'.**

_**She should try living with a robot duplicate of a Vampire Slaying sister, a Watcher, two witches, another phony Slayer robot and a tamed vampire. Then she can lecture me about schoolwork and 'paying attention to what's important', **_**Dawn grumbled to herself.**

**Of course, she knew she'd brought this on herself. Skipping didn't seem like such a big deal when she was actually doing it and there had been those days when it was necessary, when they were all trying to avoid Glory. Studying had felt and still did feel pointless when there were exciting Scooby meetings going on around her.**

_**I hope Spike can talk the others into letting me drop out in September, **_**she thought. And then grimaced as she heard her name called; it was time to pretend to care about this junk again.**

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**Tara entered the U.C. Sunnydale campus library between classes. Looking around furtively to make sure that Willow wasn't in sight, she went to the desk.**

"**Hello, Ms. Mills," she addressed the assistant librarian.**

"**Tara? It's been weeks since you've been in, dear," Lavinia smiled warmly. "What can I do for you?"**

"**Oh, uh, I-I have an unusual request," Tara said. "I sort of need any books or papers dealing with Osiris." Tara leaned closer over the counter, "You know… the stuff not on the shelves?"**

**Lavinia Mills looked around to ensure there were no casual eavesdroppers. "Osiris? Tara, I hope that you're not allowing your Wiccan studies to delve into black magic. Nothing good can come of getting involved with him, you know."**

"**I'm afraid this is a 'special project'", Tara replied, her voice dropping even further as she continued to lean close. "I'm also looking for anything on Slayer lore."**

"**Hmm. And have you spoken to Mr. Giles about this?"**

"**Not yet. This is strictly fact-finding. And he… there's just a very good reason for not bothering him with this right now."**

"**Alright. But if you get in trouble, I hope you'll come to me, Tara. Even though Rupert and I aren't dating any longer, I would still be happy to help where I can," Lavinia stressed.**

"**I appreciate that, Ms. Mills. That's why I've come to you. And as for Mr. Giles; well, give him a few weeks, but I think he may be ready to ask you out to dinner again. There was just some… business… uh, reasons that he wanted to put some distance between he and you. It was for your own safety. But that, uh, issue, has been resolved."**

"**Really? Oh, well… uh, please tell him that I look forward to speaking to him again." Lavinia straightened and returned to a regular speaking voice, "Please give me until the end of next week to see what I've got squirreled away on your topics of interest, dear."**

"**Thanks. It's really important," Tara said before turning and leaving the library.**

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"… **so what the Council is really interested in is how Glory's defeat culminated in the apparent destruction of the so-called Key," Quentin said as he sipped at his tea.**

"**Apparent destruction, Quentin? You don't believe that the Key is no longer in existence," Giles nervously asked.**

"**Oh, I'm not doubting what you've reported," he assured his Watcher, "I'm simply stating that being energy, it seems dubious to accept it's destruction at face value. Especially since your report was lacking in any eyewitness details of its final dissolution."**

_**Damn**_**, Giles thought. **_**I should have been more explicit about 'seeing' it blow up or something.**_

"**W-well, I can certainly state that it wasn't in the area where Glory's tower was built and over which her portal was opened, Quentin."**

"**What of the Dagon's Sphere? And I believe there was something about a 'Troll Hammer'?"**

"**Yes, I'm afraid the Hammer was lost during the battle as well." **

**Actually, they simply had to abandon it as no one but Buffy could lift it. Even Spike's vampire strength wasn't able to budge the item, suggesting powerful magic was to blame. Giles had been willing to entertain the idea of summoning a Troll to retrieve it and take it back to their Asgardian dimension, but apparently the strip mall developer had their own way of covering and forgetting the unusual object. Giles had seen the area where he knew the hammer to be covered over in cement. It was destined to be part of the foundation of one of the coming boutiques and good riddance to it.**

"**As to the Sphere," he continued, "I was able to rescue that, which I have in the trunk behind the sofa. Or, I should say its damaged remains. Of course, it is the Council's…."**

"**Wonderful," Quentin complimented. "I'm sure our mystics will be thrilled to study it before it is placed in our secured vault. Have you informed Ms. Summers of my arrival?"**

"**Oh, yes. She should be at her home, ready to answer your questions."**

"**That will be a nice surprise," Quentin said.**

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End Chapter 13


	14. Buffybot's Test

**Rebuilding**

Ch 14 – Buffybot's Test

**Giles nervously shifted from foot to foot as 'Buffy' invited him and Quentin in with a huge smile. **

_**Already she's not acting Buffy-ish and she hasn't even opened her mouth yet, **_**he thought fearfully.**

"**Ms. Summers. I must say, I expected much more your usual greeting," Quentin dryly commented.**

"**I could adjust my behavior if you wish," she responded with confusion. "However, I believe that a Slayer's role is to be subservient and respectful to her Council."**

"**A commendable attitude, if surprising," he responded. All the while Giles was blanching at how unlike Buffy the robot was acting. She should have hurled a poorly covered insult several minutes ago already. "And one which is appreciated for a change."**

"**Please sit, Mr. Travers. Willow made a pot of coffee before leaving for classes. Giles? Why have I not been attending my courses?"**

**Giles' eyes widened in nervous surprise, since he didn't have an immediate answer. Buffy, of course, would have gone back to class but it didn't seem to be important for the robot to emulate that behavior. Of course, they really should have had her go through the motions of dropping out. That was an error which was now going to bite them.**

"**Uh… oh… uh, I-I thought we had discussed this. You remember? You wanted to stay home to provide Dawn more stability?" Giles tried to will the robot to just agree and shut up.**

**The Buffybot searched her data banks for the information that her Watcher was referring to, but there was nothing. Still, he must have discussed this with other-Buffy and since she was pretending to be her sister during her absence, she supposed she could agree.**

"**Oh, yes. Of course," Buffybot responded. "My sister is very important. I will pour coffee. Please sit at the dining table."**

"**I-I'll help you," Giles said nervously, while Quentin sat and pulled out a small notebook.**

**In the kitchen, Giles whispered, "Please do not ask any questions about anything which Quentin doesn't bring up! Remember, he must believe that you ****are**** Buffy."**

"**I am Buffy, Giles. And you are my Watcher," she smiled brilliantly.**

**Giles sighed.**

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"**There were four vampires slain," Aprilbot's tinny sounding voice rang out of the speaker. Warren sat in front of the PC watching Spike through April's eyes.**

"**No sign of Adam," the vampire asked. **

"**Negative. No sightings."**

"**How about any bodies? We're investigating a rash of men with their throats torn out."**

"**No bodies were discovered," Aprilbot reported, utilizing the script that the Trio had come up with to explain her last patrol. He'd wiped her memory of her encounter with the cyber-zombie and her discovery of their location.**

"**Damn," Spike was saying. "There's something about these killings that I could swear I recognize."**

"**Ooh, is that Spike," Andrew excitedly asked over Warren's shoulder. "He is ****so**** ho… uh, cool. He's so cool."**

**Warren smirked but didn't reply. On the screen April was asking Spike if it reminded him of any of his kills. She managed to sound belligerent, which was a nice touch in keeping with Willow's re-programming efforts. Warren had worked with Jon to keep as much of Willow's changes in place as possible to put off any suspicion that she'd been tampered with.**

**Spike growled and turned on his heel, "I'm turning in. Re-charge your robo-batteries or something, 'Faith'."**

"**Why is she at Xander's," Andrew asked petulantly. "How are we supposed to figure out Buffy's plans if she's wasting time not being at her house?"**

"**Relax Andy-pandy. She'll show up for their little Scooby-meetings, at least. Besides, I'm sure we can still learn a lot from Xan and Spike's conversations. So far, it's obvious they have no clue where we are or what we're up to. You just be ready with the demon summoning to keep them busy if we need it."**

"**No problem. I was thinking of trying the flying monkey thing again, but they're not very housetrained. I'm thinking demon beetles, instead."**

"**Whatever. Where's Jon? We're supposed to be working on the Ice-Ray Gun."**

"**He had to get to work at the Espresso Pump," Andrew replied.**

"**We just robbed a bank. We're surrounded by money, and he's working for minimum wage? What's wrong with this picture?"**

"**Well, we're not really surrounded with money after spending it on the high tech toys," Andrew said. "And then there are the ones we can't spend because of the exploding dye packets. And… uh, the serial number problem…."**

"**Okay, okay… so our big 'get rich quick' scheme had a few bugs. We still have bigger things to plan than serving Mochas!"**

"**Oh, a Vanilla Latte sounds really good about now," Andrew brightened at the thought.**

"**You're right. And there's nothing going on with our spy right now. Let's go," Warren grinned.**

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**Buffybot placed a hand over Quentin's, causing Giles to grimace nervously. He was just waiting for Quentin to realize he was chatting away amiably with a huge fake. Instead he simply placed his hand over the Buffybot's and continued on as if he and Buffy had always had such a good relationship.**

"**I must again state how sorry I was to hear of your mother," he was saying to the robot. "I'm sure it must have been quite a blow."**

"**Yes. I'm sure it was," Buffybot agreed. "However, the stipend that the Council is providing is helping in taking care of my sister and I am grateful to them and to you," she smiled.**

"**Y-yes, well," Quentin said, uncharacteristically embarrassed, "We at the Council are very gratified with our new relationship with the Slayer. Especially, with Faith being such a bitter disappointment. Anything we can do to assist you, you have only to ask."**

"**I appreciate that, Mr. Travers. Thank you," Buffybot was trying to reconcile how Faith was a disappointment. She seemed to be performing her Slayer duties adequately and she was happy to have her fellow Slayer to help guard the Hellmouth and kill the evil-vampires-who-were-not-Spike. **

"**Well, I believe we are finished here. Thank you again for making this visit so surprisingly pleasant, Ms. Summers."**

"**Thank you for visiting, Mr. Travers," she beamed.**

**Giles, in the meantime, stood in a state of shock that apparently Quentin bought everything.**

_**Does he actually remember who Buffy is? Or was**_**, he felt another brief ache for the missing young woman who should be here instead of the automaton in front of them.**

"**I believe I'd like to discuss Mr. Harris' impressions and observations next, Rupert?"**

"**Xander is my best friend," Buffybot replied.**

"**Yes. I'm sure that's true," Quentin replied, unimpressed.**

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**Minutes after Spike had gone into Xander's bedroom, Faithbot answered a knock at the door. Signing a form she accepted a very large and heavy package from a pair of deliverymen, shocking them by lifting the huge crate as if it weighed nothing.**

"**Thank you," Faithbot said. "I don't have money. Run along," she added, closing the door on them.**

**When she opened the crate to reveal its contents she noted it contained a large slab of marble. Next to the large slab were also three smaller tablets.**

"**Odd," she commented, not understanding that the large one was to be Buffy's tombstone. **

**She was even more confused when Spike returned. He'd looked into the crate asking Faithbot what this was about. Before she could formulate a response, he'd looked at the granite and immediately paled, which was impressive considering he was always pale.**

"**Oh," he said. "I-I can't believe I forgot…."**

**He reached in and hefted one of the 'practice' slabs, a look of sorrow on his face. When he returned to the bedroom, he took the stone tablet with him and muttered that Xander's heart was going to break again, leaving Faithbot more confused than ever.**

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End Chapter 14


	15. Sunday Stresses

**Rebuilding**

Ch 15 – Sunday Stresses

**The rest of the weekend managed to go by relatively smoothly. Quentin Travers remained until Sunday night, causing Xander to spend far too much time with the Aprilbot who refused to answer to anything but Faith. She also tended to remind him and Spike at least every hour that she was 'The Vampire Slayer', which had him worried that she was out there accosting people on the street with her supposed identity. He was pretty sure that giving her an alternate identity was going to be a mistake on Will's part… the real Faith was not going to be amused.**

**In addition, Spike was unusually combative around the robot. Mostly this was verbal, but his jibes that 'Buffy is The Slayer, you're just a knock-off' made April growl and threaten him with bodily violence. Very much like Faith actually; at least Willow couldn't be accused of not doing an accurate job.**

"**I need to patrol," Faithbot argued.**

"**When Giles gets here and we know Quentin is out of town," Xander repeated again.**

"**The vampires aren't waiting for him to leave, why should I?"**

"**We need Willow to overhaul her programming," Spike muttered. "No need for her to act like the real bitch."**

"**Adam is still out there," Faithbot reminded the humans in her midst. "I'm supposed to be tracking him down for Willow Rosenberg."**

"**And you will," Xander sighed. "When Giles gets here."**

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**Andrew sat bored watching and listening to Xander and Spike argue with the robot. At least, in between his surfing the more risqué websites and looking at naked people. So far April or Faith or whatever the skank-bot was called now hadn't seen Buffy once. And Spike and Xander had discussed nothing remotely connected to the Trio. It was Dawn, Dawn, Dawn and men having their throats torn out… hello? Town full of vampires? How was any of this news?**

**Finally Mr. Giles, who Andrew had respected even when he'd just been the librarian, finally knocked on Xander's apartment door. Aprilbot, unfortunately, was finally able to leave, just when somebody with something to say arrived. **

_**At this rate, we're never going to know what Buffy is doing, **_**he whined to himself. **_**And now I can't even watch Spike! There are some weird vibes going on between him and Xander. I wonder if they're doing it? Nah, that's stupid. God… I am getting punch-tired. Wonder if Warren will yell too much if I sack out for a nap for awhile….**_

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"**Finally," Faithbot exclaimed. "Giles, will you please tell the vampire and Xander that they are ****not**** my Watchers and I don't have to listen to them. 'Cause I'm getting ready to kick some ass up in here."**

"**Er, I'm sure they had a reason for… uh… whatever," he said as the robot passed him.**

"**Whatever! I'm outta here. I'll report back to Willow when I've made a sweep of the town," she huffed as she left the apartment.**

"**She really does sound a lot like Faith," Giles said, as they all sat down.**

"**Which isn't working for me, anymore," Xander complained.**

"**I'm out of here as well," Spike said, putting on a different leather jacket than the one he used to where. The long coat hung in the closet but Spike had deflected Dawn's enquiry about why he didn't wear it anymore. "I'll look for evidence on this new vampire. I'm telling you, this M.O. is familiar. Haven't you found anything yet," he directed at Giles.**

"**It's been very difficult finding this specific wound pattern," he replied impatiently. "Since we're sure it's not a werewolf or other semi-animal attack, no, I haven't found anything yet. Although I'm wondering if anyone would bother to mention it… a vampire attack is a vampire attack."**

"**Not bloody detailed of the past Watchers," Spike muttered loudly as he marched toward the front door.**

"**Be careful," Xander said, but kept his distance. Spike had been avoiding any attempts at physical intimacy, afraid that it would encourage his alter ego to make another appearance.**

"**Tell him about Dawn," Spike said and then swept out of the apartment.**

"**Dawn," Giles sighed.**

"**Yeah. I'm afraid that we need the Buffybot to convince one more person," Xander commiserated. "On the other hand, we also have to deal with Buffy's headstone. The granite arrived and is in the crate on the veranda. I'm not looking forward to doing this, Giles. Dawn is finally getting settled."**

"**She needs to see this done, Xander," he said kindly. "We all need to see it in writing on a permanent surface. She's gone. And we haven't been back to the site since that night. It isn't right."**

"**I know. But every time we return to the burial plot, there's the chance of being spied on. Plus it's such a hazardous trek to get through there, I was kind of breathing a sigh of relief that Dawn hasn't asked to go back there."**

"**Which in itself, is unusual. I hope that she really is as alright as we think."**

"**You think she's faking it," Xander questioned, worried.**

"**Dawn is a strong girl… like her sister and her mother. But this has been an extremely traumatic several months of constant stressors. Her not mentioning returning to Buffy's burial site to place flowers or just to 'visit' seems odd to me," he said. "Of course, she hasn't really mentioned Joyce's gravesite either. Perhaps it's a side effect of the magic used to create her… to help her deal with emotions she wasn't meant to have."**

"**I-I hadn't thought about that," Xander admitted. "And now there's a new 'stressor' at school."**

**To Giles' questioning look, he provided the form letter about Dawn's truancy.**

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**It was after midnight when Giles left his own apartment after returning from Xander's earlier in the evening. He was dressed in dark jeans and a sweatshirt that usually he would pretend he didn't even own. His eyes were unusually dark and he strolled down the streets of Sunnydale without a care. Around him, the town was in deep sleep as even the jazz club had closed its doors at eleven-thirty.**

**Rupert walked directly toward the seedy end of town, but frowned in disappointment when he found the underground biker club closed as well. Sunnydale was far too sedate and boring when he wasn't looking for vampires to slay. The night life was non-existent. It was appalling and he missed London terribly.**

**Wandering aimlessly through back alleys and warehouse lots, he finally saw something that would save the evening from being a total loss. In one of the alleyways behind a furniture warehouse stood a woman of the evening looking to ply her trade. She was a red-head with far too much makeup and too tight clothing squeezing her generous proportions. She was a real tart-looking hag and Giles considered leaving her be, but he'd gone days without a good shag. With a shrug he approached the woman, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.**

"**How much," he said in a bored tone. She wasn't much to get excited over, especially this close where he could make out the dark shadows she was trying to hide with her under-eye foundation.**

"**Depends on what you're looking for," she said with equal boredom. "Full package is $160."**

"**In this neighborhood," Giles scoffed. "I'll give you eighty for straight copulation. There's an extra twenty five if you don't mind a few bruises."**

**The woman looked him over with a barely restrained hungry look but she only shrugged. **

"**Sure, whatever."**

**Slipping the money into her cool hand, he instructed her to face the wall. When she'd done as instructed, he began to hike up her jean skirt, but it was too tight. Annoyed, he attacked the zipper tab on the side of the skirt. He stopped suddenly when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck straighten. The woman's skin was far too cold, even for someone standing outside in her state of dress. Casually, he reached out and felt her neck, detecting no pulse.**

**Quickly taking two steps back, he watched her turn around. Her face morphed into that of the vampire; her eyes yellow and teeth a gleaming white in the alley light shining down from the roof of the nearby warehouse.**

"**Demonic bitch," he spat at her.**

"**What's the matter, baby. I thought you wanted it rough," she laughed as she stalked toward him. **

**Footsteps to his side caught his attention and a quick glance showed him two more vampires stalking toward him. They were both male and both dressed in dirty blue jeans, white T-shirts and leather jackets with studs.**

"**You catch something, Simone," one of them asked with a smirk.**

"**Do you like English food," she asked.**

"**It doesn't matter," Ripper interrupted their complete lack of sparkling wit. "You're all going to be dust within the next ten minutes."**

**As the vampires laughed at him, he summoned up the powers he had access to now. Pointing toward the harlot, he unleashed a stream of black lightning that had the demon dancing a jerky jig before she burst without a sound into ashes.**

**The two male vampires came to a halt, hissing and growling. Ripper smiled icily. With another incantation, he sent one of the vampire-men flying against the warehouse wall hard enough to hear a satisfying crack and a howl of pain. The other rushed toward him, but when he lifted his hand, it skidded to a stop unsure. It was a mistake; not that Giles had felt particularly threatened anyway. With a quick gesture a miniature fireball flew from his hand, instantly consuming the vampire and cutting off its scream.**

**The injured vampire had gotten to its feet during this and was now trying to race down the alleyway. Its arms were crossed over its chest and it was running hunched, telling Ripper he'd broken ribs. He gave a small laugh and another dark muttering caused the vampire to collapse in screeching pain as his fibula bones snapped.**

"**Oh, shit," the vampire yelled in pain. "Come on man… we weren't going to hurt you! It was just a little fun," he insisted as Ripper approached.**

"**Yes. Because vampires are a barrel of monkeys. You're all so well known for your jaunty sense of humor."**

"**Man! We didn't know you were a warlock, okay? Just… let me go. I'm sorry! Okay? It was that slut's idea!"**

**Giles smiled down at the vampire, who had shifted into his human face. He hadn't been a bad looking man… probably late twenties with a wiry build. If Giles was still with Ethan 'experimenting' he may have given the bloke a ride.**

**Instead he shook his head sadly, "I'd like to help you out. But I'm just having too much fun."**

**With a smile, Ripper released another incantation similar to the one which snapped the vampire's leg bones. He laughed in delight as the demon's jaw bones cracked sending the creature rolling in pain on the dirty ground. Next came more of the thing's ribs and then its larynx… his screaming was becoming an irritant. Finally, when Giles was feeling relieved of the stress he'd been hoping to expend on a woman for the night and the thing's spine had been snapped in three places, he reached slowly into his pocket for a stake. Opening the young man's jacket, he ripped the T-shirt and gazed down on the smooth white skin. Pressing the pointed wood against the chest of the thing, he ever so slowly forced it to break the skin, watching blood flow up and cover the torso. **

**The vampire was only barely conscious by this point which muted the pleasure Ripper received. Finally, after several long and suspenseful minutes, he reached the shrunken and atrophied muscle so important and watched as the vampire finally disintegrated away.**

"**You can thank Dawn for the amount of stress I needed to work off," he told the drifting ash. "I'm sure you understand."**

**He stood up with a large grin pasted on his face. As he looked casually around the empty alley he realized that his money had turned to ash with the hooker. "Well… damn."**

**He strolled out of the alley, still smiling. When he reached the apartment, he poured himself a large scotch and carried it with him to his bedroom. He slept like a baby that night.**

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**In the morning, Giles frowned at the empty glass of scotch sitting on his bed table. He hadn't recalled himself bringing such a drink to bed and he certainly should have remembered if he'd gotten up in the night for a capper. **

**Lifting the glass, he had the flash of memory of pouring it, but nothing more. With a frown, he brushed aside the question of why he couldn't recall clearly drinking it and carried the glass to the sink.**

**Starting water for tea and pouring a bowl of bran cereal, he concentrated on the coming day. He and the Buffy-robot had an appointment with Dawn's principle for four o'clock. He was irritated with the young girl for not concentrating on her school work and especially for her skipping out during the day. Joyce would be quite livid with the girl. And of course, it just added another complication to their attempts to get life back to as normal as they could manage with a robot pretending to be Buffy. In addition, he was going to take the robot to U.C. Sunnydale to officially drop Buffy from the school roster, as if they thought she was still attending. He planned on meeting Tara at her dorm room while there so that they could pack the last of her and Willow's things and bring them over to Dawn's house.**

**It was going to be quite the busy day. He was grateful that he'd managed to sleep so well last night, rather than be plagued by his disjointed and disturbing dreams. Now, if he could only explain the brandy glass by the bed sufficiently.**

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End Chapter 15


	16. Life Stuff

**Rebuilding**

Ch 16 – Life Stuff

**Ms. Portlynn, a short and plump African-American with a no nonsense attitude in a sharp maroon business suit and skirt sat with her arms resting on her desk. She looked across at the three people on the other side of the desk with an air of disappointment.**

**Giles could feel his feathers roughing a bit at the implied judgment in her body language. Clearly, she didn't think much of their parenting skills and Giles thought they'd been doing an admirable job, considering the circumstances.**

**Alison had been through this before countless times in her career. You had a good, smart kid and then something horrible happens and they just spin out of control. Well, she wasn't about to let that happen to one of hers. The only way to get a troubled teen back on track was a little tough love. And she obviously wasn't getting it from her sister and godfather.**

"**I'm sure we all understand that Dawn has transgressed," Giles stated. "However, I fail to see how threatening us does any good."**

"**Dawn is my sister," Buffybot emphasized. "I can take care of her."**

"**I'm sure that's so. And I'm not saying that we are removing her from the home," Alison stated diplomatically. "I'm not even suggesting that I am going to report her situation to the authorities at this time. I'm simply stating that if she continues to choose to skip school, the truancy office will take action."**

"**It's just been a rough time," Dawn said.**

"**Which is no excuse," the principal said bluntly. "Your mother was a lovely woman and we miss her dearly, Dawn. But this isn't the behavior she would have expected from you."**

"**I agree," Buffybot nodded with another incongruous smile. This was quickly (a little too unnaturally sudden, in Dawn's estimation) turned to a frown as she addressed Dawn. "I believe that our mother would be very distressed to find you shirking your responsibilities. Giles?" **

"**Uh, uh, yes. Yes, I'm sure she would be, as am I. But now that we are aware of the issue, I'm sure that Dawn knows she will be monitored far more closely."**

"**I'm afraid the damage has been done," Ms. Portlynn said with regret. "I've received enough complaints about her performance, when she decides to attend class, that I'm afraid there simply isn't enough time left in the school year for her to pass her current grade."**

"**Surely you're not suggesting she be held back," Giles blanched.**

"**I can't do that! I'll look like the town idiot," Dawn complained.**

"**What do you suggest to resolve this conflict," Buffybot asked the principal.**

"**I'm afraid I must recommend that Dawn attend summer school. With hard work and focus, I'm sure she can join her peers in September."**

"**Uh…" Dawn tried to object, her eyes wide in horror.**

**Buffybot talked over her, "Wonderful!"**

**With a huge smile, she turned to Dawn, "You'll have more time to accumulate important facts and figures."**

"**N-now, let's not be hasty here," Dawn tried again.**

"**I believe that summer school is an appropriate action," Giles offered to the principal. "Will they begin immediately after the year's recess?"**

"**Uh, n-now wait a minute," Dawn stuttered with a look of growing panic on her face.**

"**Classes for the summer session begin one week after graduation day. This year that will be June 18th with the last class being held on…" she flipped through a desk calendar, "… August 24th. Then regular classes are scheduled to begin on September 3rd, so she will have a week there to rest and gear up for the new school year."**

"**That'll blow my whole summer," Dawn exclaimed.**

"**Dawn, this will be a far more valuable use of your time than hanging around at our house," Buffybot insisted. "Knowledge is power," she grinned widely. **(1)

"**I-I'm sorry, Dawn," Giles sympathized. "But you did bring this on yourself."**

"**This just sucks," she said.**

"**Dawn, you know school policy about language," Alison warned.**

"**Sorry, ma'am."**

"**I have a very good feeling about your continued education," Buffybot smiled. **

_**I hate you, **_**Dawn thought without any real malice. She knew Buffy would probably be insisting the same thing. That didn't make it any fairer. **_**You could at least look regretful like Giles, you stupid bucket of bolts.**_

"**Fine," Dawn said aloud but she was thinking, **_**September 1st I turn sixteen and I am so not going to be here on September 3rd.**_

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**At the mall site, the outer walls were being put in place and Xander was going over another budgeting report for the developer. His mind wandered for a minute to Spike and he sighed.**

_**I miss him in bed, too, **_**Hyena whined.**

_**You should have thought about that before freaking him and pushing me aside.**_

_**If you weren't so selfish with the body, I wouldn't have had to.**_

_**Uh, this is MY body… so yeah, I'm selfish with it. Why don't you join Commando? Don't you have someplace to 'fade away' to?**_

**Hyena growled at him, but she slunk away into his subconscious.**

**Grabbing the phone, he dialed up Willow's cell phone and waited for her to pick-up.**

"**Hello," her voice, sounding wore out as she always seemed to these days, came over the line.**

"**Hey, Wills… how you doing?"**

"**Oh, hi Xan! I'm fine... just working on getting caught up on some coursework. Things have kind of slid and they're threatening me with some incompletes… the bastards," she said hotly. **

"**Sorry. I know you guys are stretched, but I was calling to see if you can watch Dawn tonight at home? Pretty please?"**

"**Uh, yeah… of course. I mean, it is her house. Why, what's up?"**

"**Oh," Xan said slyly, "I was just planning on a night in."**

"**Ooh, something romantic-like," Willow exclaimed before sighing, "Geez, I can't remember the last time Tara and I had a romantic evening."**

"**Well, if you will do this for me tonight, we'll take her for the rest of the week and you and Tar can do the domestic bliss deal, okay?"**

"**Sure," she said with a smile in her voice, "In the meantime, I've got to get back to work. I still have your special project to look into."**

"**Any hints, yet?"**

"**Sorry, Xan. I don't know why those personalities didn't disappear the way they should have. Tara has some ideas on how to make her go away, but I'm not comfortable telling you all the details, for obvious reasons."**

"**Yeah, best to keep it mum. Even when I can't feel her moving around, I'm pretty sure she's listening in on everything. Any idea how close we are to trying something?"**

"**Mmm… maybe a month. There's this thing with some stuff and it takes that long to ferment it properly," Willow said.**

"**So you're going to get me liquored up?"**

"**No," she laughed. "It's just a potion… no alcohol. Wow, I don't think I've laughed since…."**

**There was an uncomfortable silence of several seconds over the phone.**

"**It's okay, Willow. We're allowed to be happy again," Xander pointed out.**

"**Uh, I really gotta go," Willow said to him and disconnected.**

**Xander sighed. **_**I thought that Buffy's death was going to hit me or Spike the worst next to Dawn and Giles. I didn't realize how tough this was on Willow.**_

**Across the town at the U.C. campus library, Willow closed her stinging eyes tightly. In front of her was a book on the ancient Egyptian rituals and rites involving the Underworld. She'd read the same page three times already and couldn't remember what it had said. Her mind kept returning to Buffy's torment. Just that morning, she could have sworn she'd heard her voice just as she was waking up screaming for help.**

_**I'm sorry Buffy, **_**she thought while holding back tears, **_**I-I shouldn't be laughing… not 'til you're home.**_

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**Between her own classes, Tara used the time waiting for Giles in her dorm room to type up what Spike had reported from patrol. He'd found a decomposed body of a man with the throat torn. It was likely the father of the first missing family and it broke Tara's heart when she thought of the missing children. So far, there'd been two more families that had been abducted. That made another two fathers, three mothers and a total of five children… all missing. It seemed that somebody had little use for the men, but what in the world were they doing with the women and children?**

**Her answer was less than two miles away at the abandoned castle of the bed and breakfast. Vanessa looked down at Gladys, Tammy and Rachel along with their kids; Terry 1, Terry 2, Nicky, Jamie and Tess. All of them sported fangs and yellow eyes and were currently biting into one of two dead stray dogs.**

"**You will be my army," she said, while they mostly ignored her in preference for the warm blood they were consuming. **_**That's alright; they'll listen when the time is important.**_

"**Tonight, you'll find the mysterious red-head," Vanessa said. "I want to know what Spike is playing at, not biting her. It just doesn't make sense," she shook her head in confusion.**

"**No, Spike always kills. He's no better than any of us. And yet…," she sighed. She'd been puzzling over his accompanying the girl around town without attacking since she'd spied on him. And it still stung a little that she meant so little to him, he hadn't even detected her presence. It was galling, really.**

"**Well, he won't be ignoring me much longer," she whispered.**

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End Chapter 16

(1) A shout out to WaTchers: The Virtual Series at 


	17. Achilles Heels

**Rebuilding**

Ch 17 – Achilles Heels

**Spike walked fifteen feet behind Dawn, trying to give her space, while ensuring her safety. From his vantage point, he could keep an ear open as well for any distress when a car wasn't passing directly by him. He wished it wasn't necessary. If he had to hear one more time which boys had nice asses, he might vomit. **

**Next to Dawn was her best friend and, it seemed, constant companion Janice. When the two hens weren't together, they were talking on the phone. She also had Lisa, a pretty black girl and Monique, Lisa's sister with her. All of them seemed to have a one track mind and their girlish squeals were giving him a headache… or so he imagined. Vampires, he knew, didn't actually suffer that malady, but teen girl's were certainly as potent as any pain spell so he was sure they could induce one in even the undead.**

**Dawn was, of course, perfectly aware of Spike's presence. She'd insisted that he leave her and her friends alone. She was the Slayer's sister and could handle herself, after all. Plus she knew the danger and would avoid the alleys and so forth. She was packing a pencil thin stake and had a crucifix in her front jean's pocket. When he'd simply scowled at her and she knew she wasn't winning this one, she'd surrendered… a little. Instead, she'd gotten him to promise to stay behind them so that her friends wouldn't know they were being followed all night. She also had to promise to head home right after the movie let out at ten; she still had school in the morning and everyone, even the Buffybot, was on her case about schoolwork, schoolwork, schoolwork.**

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**Vanessa strolled casually fifteen feet behind Spike and twenty feet above his head. She watched as he followed behind the gaggle of teen girls that he was obviously shadowing. Below her, following along were five utterly silent and pale children. The three mothers she had turned were out scouting for a red-headed, college age girl. When they found her they would follow her home for further investigation later.**

_**Spike, Spike, Spike… teen-aged girls? You naughty boy, **_**she smiled nastily.**

**In front and below her, she could actually see Spike stiffen and look around straining his senses. She laughed lightly and silently as he peered at the crowds around him, trying to espy why his vampire sense was warning him he was being watched.**

_**So, you don't think enough of me to know when I'm near, but add a group of us and you're on alert, then? Well, look around dearest soon to be really dead Sire. You won't think to check the rooftops and the children are too easily blended into the crowds of parent-figures around them.**_

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**Spike spun around, continuing to walk, and then faced the girls in front of him again. He was sure that he was detecting fellow demons nearby; probably vampires, and yet he wasn't spotting any. He shrugged the knot out of his shoulders and moved up a few feet on Dawn and her friends. **

_**Must be vamps hidden in the alleyways nearby, **_**he thought to himself. **_**Good thing we're near the theatre.**_

**In front of him the giggling girls took a sharp right and entered a flashy, crowded movie house, but Spike couldn't feel any relief. Dawn was about to be sitting in a completely darkened room. Who knew how many vampires were sitting in there waiting to get their claws and teeth on her? Well, that wasn't going to do.**

**When he entered the theatre himself, he felt a brief moment of panic before he found her again. Two of the friends were missing, but the other one… Lisa, he thought, was holding a wad of bills. Figuring the other two were off to the ladies', he snuck his way into the corridor leading to the two-screened portion of the movie house. He noted the one Dawn would be sitting in; he knew she was seeing 'Along Came A Spider' with that essence of cool, Morgan Freeman. The bloke was aces in Spike's book.**

**Dashing into the theatre, he wandered first down one row, then across the front and then back up the other. When he'd returned to the doors, he exited and made his way back to the main floor of the movie house; the staff none the wiser. He hadn't detected any thing out of the usual.**

**Spike again felt the chill of a predator somewhere close and scoured the floor for the source of his tension. Still seeing nothing, he sought out the Bit, again.**

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**Vanessa watched as Spike quite purposely 'bumped' into one of the thin, white teens he'd been following. She was peering in through the wide windows, unwilling to risk being spotted by entering. On her face was another puzzled frown.**

_**Why her, Sire? She's so young… and thin… and… and vacuous. I can tell that just by looking at her!**_

**The girl was looking quite annoyed with him and kept sending embarrassed glances at her friends who were obviously getting a kick out of her being chatted up by the leather jacketed man. Vanessa could almost imagine the lines he must be trying on the girl. She could nearly feel her friends' mixtures of amusement at her embarrassment and jealousy over the attentions. Spike, after all, was a gorgeous looking male.**

**Apparently getting nowhere, he turned and headed for the exit in her direction. Moving rapidly, gliding silkily through the crowds, she dashed around a corner. From there, Vanessa climbed up the wall and returned to her rooftop perch, gazing down in hatred at her negligent Master. How she despised him! How she had missed him.**

_**Foolish, Vanessa, **_**she berated herself. **_**Foolish and empty. Don't weaken, dear… he deserves what he's going to get!**_

**The children had vanished across the street, but she could see their eyes glittering in the shadow of another alley. Whoever had designed this town had foolishly included so many dark places for her kind to stalk and hide.**

**Spike strolled out and immediately took the same alley she had. With furtive glances over the edge of the building, she watched as he made his way to the emergency exits of the movie house. Curiously, she saw him yank on one of the doors and slip into the dark interior of the building.**

_**What is he doing? If he wanted to stalk the young lady into the cinema, he certainly didn't need to break in the rear.**_

**As she puzzled over what his intentions were, Spike reappeared re-shutting the door. She saw him close his eyes and inhale deeply, scenting for something and she quickly pulled herself away from the roof's precipice, lest he scent her and look up.**

**When she heard a squealing noise, she risked another peak and saw that he was jamming the door he'd broken into. Again she wondered what he was doing… there was another rear door that he'd left alone, so it didn't appear that he was trying to trap the visitors for a mass slaughter in the aisles. At the same time, he was now making it difficult for any other vampires to break in… without the same level of noise he was creating, anyway.**

_**Is he… is he trying to keep us out? He does appear to be looking for trouble… watchful for it. And… and this girl… he didn't seem very aggressive to me. Just like with the red-head, could he not be stalking this young lady for a bite? What the hell is he up to?**_

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**As Dawn and her friends waited for the current run of the movie to finish and people to exit, she was turning beat red. Her friends were merciless in their teasing over the 'hot, older guy looking to score'.**

"**No fair keeping him to yourself, Dawnie. Especially if you ain't interested! Send him my way," Monique was on the edge of seventeen and was even more into the boys then Dawn, Lisa and Janice. "Besides, he was way more my age!"**

_**Hah! You wish, **_**Dawn thought. **

"**He was a real cutie," Lisa added.**

"**Dawn! You totally should have invited him to coffee after the movie, or something," Janice exclaimed.**

"**Jan, that was just Spike! You've seen him around, haven't you," Dawn raised an eyebrow. It was actually possible that none of her friends had seen Spike, considering his schedule. "He's like… a favorite cousin of the family or something! Don't be nasty-gross!"**

"**Hey, I think you've mentioned him! Isn't he the hot friend of your sis," Jan exclaimed. "Oh my gawd," she turned to the other girls, "He like, wears leather all the time and he smokes! He's like one of those really cool biker dudes, without the sleazy hanging around in front of school and catcalling!"**

"**Well, like I said… give him my number," Monique exclaimed with a laugh. **

"**Like you could date him anyway," Lisa said with a roll of her eyes. "Momma would flip out if you brought home a white boy."**

"**Who said anything about bringing him home!? Listen sis, there are some guys for the parents and other guys that are just for you."**

"**You are such a slut."**

"**Hey! Watch your mouth," Monique grinned. "Besides, you're only a slut if you do more than make out, which I don't. Much to the boys' torture," she laughed. "Besides, don't think I haven't seen you staring at the white boys… especially that junior, R.J."**

"**Oh my gawd, he is so cute," Jan immediately exclaimed. "It just sucks that he won't date freshman. I would so love to grab a hold of some of that fine ass. Next year, he is so on my dance card!"**

"**Not if I get to him first," Dawn kidded… sort of. She really did like R.J. a lot.**

"**You guys haven't got a chance," Monique stated. "He's a football star. He only looks at cheerleaders," she said disgustedly.**

"**You find this out for yourself," Lisa smirked.**

**Monique rolled her eyes, but didn't answer as the crowd noises suddenly grew around them with the movie exiting.**

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**Spike had bought a ticket, of course, with money Xan had handed him. Just in case the damned pimply usher came through.**

**He knew exactly where Dawn was seated with those bubble-headed friends of hers and kept looking from the screen to where she was sitting. He was ducked down, as he promised her that once she reached the safety of her seat, he would leave them to it. **

_**So I lied, **_**he directed silently at her from his seat in the back corner. **_**Should never trust the word of a vampire; especially one who has a stake in you staying healthy.**_

**When Spike heard Morgan's voice, he tuned back into the movie but it was shit. So full of implausibility, he couldn't get into the plot. But he would be happy to pay Xan's money just to hear Mr. Freeman read the telephone book, so he really only paid attention when the man was on screen. Otherwise, he kept track of Dawn and everyone sitting beside, in front of or behind her. When she got up to go to the restroom, so did he, finding somewhere out of the way where he could hear even a muffled yell and then following her back into the theatre, all the while keeping out of sight. No need to get her pissed at him, after all.**

**As the movie reached its 'exciting' climax, Spike again slipped out. He had warned Dawn that he'd be hidden out front to walk them all home and he didn't want to risk her spotting him anywhere but there. She had the temper of her older sis, which she already proved when he tugged her away to tell her that he was checking out the alleyway and didn't want her going into that darkened room until he came back and gave the all clear.**

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**When Dawn left the building with her friends, she automatically glanced around. She'd picked up some good habits from Buffy and she always took a quick look to see if anyone appeared to be staring at her… according to Buffy that could mean a vampire. And she'd been right… there was a vampire watching her. **

**She smiled at Spike casually as she turned in the direction of home with her friends. Her pals hadn't spotted him, of course. She may not have either, if she didn't already know that he was there waiting for her.**

"**So, like tell us more about Spike, Dawn," Jan excitedly said. "Do you think he and your sis are doing it?"**

**The air in Dawn's throat nearly choked her and she had to work to restrain her sudden anger. It wasn't Janice's fault that she didn't know about Buffy. She didn't mean to be as insulting as she sounded.**

"**No! I mean… no," Dawn stammered. "Of course not. Besides, Spike is already involved with one of my sister's friends."**

"**I thought Willow was, uh, you know… with another girl," Jan said, turning red-faced. She had completely flipped out one day when Dawn had casually mentioned 'Will and her girlfriend' making kissy-faces in the kitchen. Jan didn't know how Dawn could live in the same house with a 'pair of lezzies' there.**

**Once Dawn had finished berating her for her homophobia, however, she'd managed to make it clear that both Willow and Tara were like aunts to her. **

"**It's not Willow or Tara," Dawn said with a teasing smile.**

"**Do I know who? Cause I'm totally going to be mad if it's serious. Spike is a major hottie!"**

"**Yeah, you've seen him around at the house."**

"**Him," Monique exclaimed. "Oh, now that is just completely unfair! How's a girl supposed to compete if its 'only boys' allowed?"**

"**Oh my gawd! Are all of your sister's friends gay," Jan exclaimed. Jan tended to 'exclaim' things a lot.**

"**Uh… well, actually…." Dawn laughed.**

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**Again, Spike was following fifteen feet behind the group and staying to people's lawns so he could duck behind bushes or trees if need be; not that he didn't feel ridiculous! But this was the way Dawn wanted it, so that was good enough for him.**

**He smirked broadly as conversation turned to Xander and him. He wondered if that Jan girl would be surprised to learn that Spike was still just as much surprised as she was. Being with Xan was not the idea he'd had when he first met him. And if the witches could get rid of his hitchhiking personality, he was looking forward to surprising himself some more.**

**Ahead of him, Spike saw something short, bipedal and very fast converging on the girls' position. Behind it, several more were racing toward them as well. Even before his senses started warning him of fellow blood-drinkers close by, he was moving like a running back for them. Yelling a warning to Dawn, he shouted for the girls to duck down.**

**Naturally, being the only one with prior experience, Dawn was the only one to immediately react. But the lead… dwarf? child? halfling? … was on her before she could move enough. With a scream of alarm, Dawn went down, wrestling with what appeared to be a small kid, except for the fangs and yellow eyes.**

**Monique was screaming an aborted 'what the hell' when she also was tackled with a cry of alarm. Beside her, Lisa tried to yank off the rabid midget when another one jumped onto her back and yanked her backward to the pavement.**

**Janice stood frozen, shaking and screaming as two kids wearing really bizarre Halloween make up raised their clawed hands and hissed at her. Before she could get angry enough to yell at them for their joke, Dawn's 'cousin' or family friend, Spike rushed past her. He slammed a fist into one of the kids, sending it careening into the other one still trying to scare her and then he was yanking on the one atop Dawn.**

**Jan didn't realize there was true danger until she heard Lisa scream in sudden shock.**

"**Help Lisa," Dawn yelled at Spike, while pulling out her pencil-stake. He hesitated, but she gave him a shove and then jumped on top of the mini-vamp that had tried to bite her. **

**Even as he turned away, he heard and felt the vampire dust behind his running form. In front of him, Jan was trying to get to Lisa, but the two kid vampires were blocking her and making threatening moves. Behind his shoulder he yelled at Dawn to help her friend.**

**Reaching Lisa, he yanked the bloodrat off of her where it had clamped its strong hands onto an arm and was trying to pull her off of her feet. His own stake quickly reduced that one to ash. Less than two feet away, Monique was screaming to beat the band with the fanged brat less than inches from her terrified face.**

"**Stay down," Spike yelled at Lisa, while he rushed to Monique. Taking a handful of vampire by the back of the neck, Spike threw the bratling yards away and then turned to check on Dawn.**

**She and Jan were struggling to hold one of the fang crew down, while there was no sight of the other.**

_**Two for the younger Summers, **_**he grinned with absurd pride.**

**Monique was still screaming her fool head off and Spike was about to tell her to pipe down when the little vampire he threw was suddenly on his back, a small but sharp pair of fangs biting into his neck!**

_**Oh, that's just swell, **_**he thought with pain, anger, and embarrassment. The little fiend was sucking hard.**

**As Spike fell to one knee, he heard Dawn's last vampire dust away. His head was starting to hurt as the vampire leached the cow's blood from his artery and he felt the world start to sway a little. Behind him, the Monique bitch was doing nothing to help, while at least the Lisa girl was beginning to beat on the little biter's head.**

"**Spike," Dawn yelled, sounding in a panic.**

**Her voice gave Spike the sudden drive he needed to throw off the feeding vampire's lethargic effect and he managed to get a hand around the throat. Yanking, and bringing a fair amount of flesh with it, he slammed the 'little boy' down on the sidewalk. A quick thrust of his stake and the last vampire attacker was also dust.**

"**God, Spike, you're bleeding!"**

"**Oh, God… oh, God… oh, God," Jan was repeating over and over, while falling heavily to her butt on the sidewalk.**

**Lisa had rushed to her sister's side who was still trying to scream, though her voice had gone extremely hoarse by now. Both girls were crying hysterically.**

"**This is so not good," Dawn muttered. "Spike, how bad are you hurt?!"**

"**It's nothing, Bit."**

"**Don't lie to me," she shouted. "I'm a Scooby! We don't lie to each other!"**

"**Hey," he said, grabbing her hand and giving a gentle squeeze. "I'm alright… really. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll have a cup o'blood at the apartment and I'll be healed in no time. The little shit may have bitten me, but he still had the tiny fangs of a kid, okay? Now let's help your friends."**

"**We gotta get to my house, Spike. We've got blood there for you and then we can decide how to handle them," she nodded toward her still collapsed and crying friends.**

_**My god, but she sounds so much like the Slayer, **_**Spike thought as he watched Dawn take a firm hand of the situation.**

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**A fair ways down the block, Vanessa watched everything from behind a tree. She had to discover what Spike had been up to, so she'd sacrificed her little ones to find out. She had known that he'd be able to easily defeat them. What she had wanted to know was what he'd do when they attacked the girls he was following.**

_**He protected them!? He… he protected the human girls!**_

**As the shock began to wear off over what she'd witnessed a sly smile came to her face. Spike had apparently taken a special interest in the skinny, dark haired girl and she had genuine feelings for him as well, obviously. He hadn't morphed when attacking her minions which made her wonder if the girl, whoever she was, knew what she was caring for.**

_**Well, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that Spike has apparently developed some sort of protective instincts for her… like a favored pet? Well, I can find a way to use that… looks like I needn't chop off Dru's limbs to get to him after all, **_**she quietly laughed with elation.**

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End Chapter 17


	18. Slippery Slope

**Rebuilding**

Ch 18 – Slippery Slope

**Tara handed Monique a steaming hot mug and forced it into her hand as the young woman sat shivering with shock on the Summers' sofa. Next to her Jan and Lisa were practically holding each other and shivering like on a cartoon, but far less funny. Willow was speaking quietly with Spike, getting an update on what had happened while Dawn paced back and forth.**

"**Their faces…God, their faces," Monique whispered as she stared at Tara with wide, watery eyes.**

"**It'll be alright," Dawn tried to comfort them, but she sounded unconvinced. **

"**There was… there were fangs," Jan exclaimed suddenly.**

"**What the hell was that," Lisa demanded. "What… what… how could their faces look like that!?"**

"**We're being punished! I'm being punished… please God, I'll never flirt with a boy again! Oh, my God… the eyes," Monique began rocking and crying. Tara was forced to pry the tea from her as the orange-brown water began sloshing over onto the carpet.**

**Tara looked with concern at Willow as she sensed her girlfriend arrive at her side. Will crooked a finger silently, summoning her toward the kitchen where Spike was waiting. He had a square of white gauze taped to his neck and it just peeked out from under his jacket and plain, black sweatshirt.**

"**Here Dawn," she said quietly while pushing the mug of tea into her hands. "See if you can get them to sip some of this… I added a nip of whiskey. I need to talk to Willow."**

**Once the three had stepped into the kitchen, Willow immediately laid out the plan that she and Spike had agreed on. "I want to use the Tabula Rasa spell," she said.**

**Tara looked on both of them without comment. Her hanging open mouth was more than enough to get her shock and revulsion across.**

"**I know," Willow nodded. She had known that Tara wouldn't be happy. "But look at them, Tara. They can't handle this knowledge."**

"**But… but to … Willow, it's their minds you're talking about. It… it seems so wrong!"**

"**It's the right thing to do Wicca," Spike said in a subdued voice. "We can't let them leave in their state."**

"**Spike? You can go if you want," Willow told him. "I know that you and Xan had a night planned…."**

"…**He'll understand, Red. Besides, I can't let the girls go home alone. We don't know if that was all of 'em."**

"**You said there were five," Tara said. "That accounts for the missing kids."**

"**But where are the moms? And who changed them? No, somebody is still out there playing," he said. "I'll walk them home."**

"**After the spell," Willow said, again looking at Tara.**

**She watched along with Spike in silence as Tara struggled with her belief in the sanctity of the individual with what she'd witnessed. Another yowl of terror erupted from the living room which seemed to decide for her.**

"**I-I guess we don't have another good choice," Tara acquiesced. "But this is a very slippery slope. I don't want us to get too used to resorting to this type of magic. We're playing with enough danger as it is," she directed at Willow.**

**Spike frowned for a moment, but let the comment pass uncommented on. "Is there something I can do to help?"**

"**Not unless you became a witch recently," Willow rather rudely told him. "There's crystals in the basement and some Lethe's bramble locked in our dresser drawer… bottom one," she turned away from Tara and started for the basement.**

**Tara gave a worried nod and started for the stairs. She was very anxious about performing this spell, not only for the moral reasons, but because Willow seemed so cold to it all. They had performed a purification and ritual bath to wipe away the darkness that Willow had picked up during her magic battle with Glory. Now, Tara wondered if it had done any good. Her girlfriend still seemed in a hurry to take the easy way out with dubious magic. **

_**On the other hand, what choice do I have, **_**she bit at her lower lip as she retrieved the flower buds. **_**We can't lock them up here indefinitely and we sure can't send them home in this state.**_

**The actual spell only took minutes and as the three young women dropped off into a temporary sleep, the gang quickly cleared away and hid the signs of spell casting. Moments later, they woke up as one. They were confused, but Dawn stepped in with some energetic babbling about the movie and the girls seemed to forget that anything was amiss.**

"**Well, I guess I should get you girls home," Spike said.**

"**Oh, we can walk by ourselves," Lisa smiled with a little blush. **

"**And I'm right across the street," Janice giggled.**

"**I'm just going to walk Jan over," Dawn said.**

"**Be careful, Bit. As for you ladies, I'd feel better if you let me drop you off at your door," he smiled his most dashing smile. This led to more embarrassed giggles from Lisa. Her sister just smiled coquettishly.**

"**That's very nice of you Mr. uh…?"**

"**It's just Spike, luv."**

**He could tell that the girls were infatuated with him and adding the charm had them agreeing with no fuss to the escort. As they headed out of the door, Spike turned to Willow and Tara, "Stay in, yeah?"**

"**We will. And we'll watch Dawn come back," Willow smirked with a nod of her head at his admirers.**

**Tara stood behind them with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She wasn't happy at all with what they had just done and even more bothered by the casualness of the others toward messing with the girl's minds. This wasn't the way magic was supposed to be used and even if it was necessary, they should all feel badly about it, in her opinion.**

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**Spike didn't get in until nearly twelve-thirty. The apartment was in complete darkness, but there was enough ambient light for his vampire eyesight to make out everything clearly. On the dining room table sat two tall candles. They both had melted wax, which was now hardened, dribbled down their sides. **

**He hissed to himself with regret when he saw that the whole of the living room had candles set up in various places. In the air was the tang of citrus and spice from when Xander had lit them and awaited his arrival. Returning his attention to the dining table, he saw a place setting laid out for him. Xander's spot was empty.**

**As he wandered to the kitchen, he spotted dirty dishes in the sink. He opened the fridge to retrieve a pint and saw a small glass bottle with a cork stopper that hadn't been there earlier in the day. Inside was the dark crimson of his meal-blood.**

**Spike uncorked it with a small smile and gave it a whiff. It was cow blood, but there was some sort of spicy scent wafting under the heady smell of blood. When he sipped it, he found that Xander had added a little bit of cinnamon to it.**

**The kitchen light suddenly went on and he spun to find Xander standing in pajama bottoms and nothing else. On his face was a mixture of hurt and anger.**

"**You missed dinner. And everything else," he said flatly.**

"**I know, Love. I'm sorry."**

"**Sure. No big deal. I'm going to bed. Got an early morning. Suppose you'll be up all night, alone, again?"**

"**I know you're angry, but I got held up."**

"**You're a vampire. I understand that you don't get 'romantic night in'. It was a stupid idea. We should have just gone patrolling together," Xander crossed his arms and looked slightly humiliated.**

"**Romance with you would have made my night, Love. Honestly, I wasn't out goofing off," he said as he lowered his jacket and tugged at his shirt. He was able to give Xander a clear view of the gauze bandage. **

**It had two very clear circles of moist blood soaking through.**

"**Jeez, what happened? Where's Dawn?! Is she alright?!" **

**Xander knew that Spike had taken her and her friends to the movies. He was supposed to have been back no later than eleven so they'd have a few hours to themselves… all night if he could have seduced Spike. His anger obviously evaporated immediately on seeing that Spike had been wounded.**

"**The missing kids happened. They sprung out of the woodwork and came after Dawn and the giggle-triplets. I'm alright, and so are they."**

"**The kids bit you!? Oh my God, please tell me that somebody didn't vamp some innocent children?"**

"**Sorry, Babe. I'm afraid so. We were able to dust 'em; you would have been proud of the Pint… she held her own just fine, but I was worried about letting the girls walk back home on their own."**

"**You did the right thing," Xander conceded, shaken. Even in Sunnydale, the crime rate against the tykes was very, very low. Even most of the demons that visited apparently had their threshold for what was tolerable. "Damn it… kids."**

"**I know," Spike pulled him into an embrace. "There was more trauma afterward, but Willow whipped up a spell and made the teens forget what had happened."**

"**I bet Tara was happy with that," he said facetiously.**

"**She's a good woman; maybe too good for the things that we sometimes might need to do to win. But that's a worry for another apocalypse…." he leaned in and captured Xander's mouth. "I really am sorry that you went to so much trouble."**

"**Yeah," Xander shrugged with a sigh. "Well, it's not like this is the first time that my plans have been cancelled due to Hellmouthyness. Are you really okay? You're still bleeding a little and it looks like he got you in the jugular?"**

"**The little shit came close, but yeah, I'll be fine. I need to get back to the blood though. You should go to sleep… you got work awfully early and you'll be moaning, groaning and bitching as it is," Spike smirked.**

"**I do not 'bitch'," Xander insisted indignantly. "I may kvetch a little."**

**Spike dis-entwined himself from Xander's hold and went back to the bottle of blood. He heard Xan sigh as he returned to their room. **

_**Or his and Hyena's room, **_**Spike thought with longing. **_**Don't suppose it's really my room right now… just a place I borrow when the sun's a bit bright.**_

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**In 'The Cantina', Andrew Wells was bouncing a rubber ball against the wall. April was wandering Sunnydale, looking for demons or vampires and he still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Buffy all day. He was beginning to wonder if the two of them ever were in the same place at the same time, at all. Maybe Buffy had a prejudice against robots?**

**His mind was wandering to one of his fantasies about Warren. In it, Obi Wan would come into the lair dressed in leather and looking really tough and macho… kinda like Spike, actually, but warmer. He'd stroll up casually behind him while he was monitoring and place his strong hands on his shoulders, beginning to rub as he expressed worry that Andrew's muscles were all knotted.**

**As Andrew tried to relax, Warren would begin pressing harder, leaning over further until his hot breath would linger on the skin of his neck. He'd protest, of course, that Warren was too close, but in his fantasy, Warren would just laugh and ask if he was sure he wanted him to step back.**

**Warren would reach past him and grab the arms of the chair he was in, swinging him around so that they were face to face. As Andrew tried to hide how excited he was getting, Warren would lean in very close, his lips to his ear. **

"**I know you've been watching me, Andy," Warren would whisper before running his tongue just barely over the outside of his ear. "It's just the two of us… I told Jon to take the night off… all that work at the Pump. Ooh… did I say 'Pump'?"**

**Warren at this point would let a hand fall to Andrew's crotch… and begin to gently knead. Of course, he'd tried to protest, but Warren wouldn't take ****that****! He'd dive into his mouth with his hot tongue, forcing him to submit to his rough, manly kiss.**

**Andrew knew he'd be but putty and Warren would… well, he'd do stuff. The fantasy wasn't very explicit at this point as usually Andrew would start to panic and shake off the daydream. **

**As he did now. When he looked at the monitor again, the screen was showing a close up of Willow's face. He quickly turned up the receiver's volume.**

"…**r not too damaged? If you need work done, I need to know so I can schedule time to get into your guts."**

"**No," Faithbot's voice echoed slightly through the speaker, "It is only cosmetic damage. And that giant sewer snake won't be eating any more workmen in the meantime. I'd like to see Buffy try tangling with ****that****!"**

"**I'd like to see Buffy at all," Andrew whined to Willow over the monitor.**

"**Well, why don't I take a quick look anyway while you're charging. I wish I knew how Warren took care of your batteries. You seem to suddenly be holding a charge for less and less amount of time," Willow complained. **

_**Oh, oh! If she starts digging into the battery case, she might find the transmitter, **_**Andrew worried. **_**We may need to step up Adam's assault on the Slayer's forces. I'll have to remember to mention it to Warren.**_

**Pulling out a day planner, Andrew jotted a note to himself.**

"**Just relax and let yourself power up," Willow smiled. **

**In the background, Andrew heard Buffy's voice complaining that Faithbot was spending less time at the Slaying than she was and she had a sister that she needed to take care of and blah-blah-blah.**

**Andrew excitedly leaned forward and turned the speaker on the PC up to full. He started the audio/video capture application and began to digitally record. He had just enough time to record Willow's sigh and a streaming video of her rolling her eyes before April shut down and his feed went blank.**

"**Arrggghhhhh," echoed throughout the empty iron works plant.**

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End Ch 18


	19. Closure

**Rebuilding**

Ch 19 – Closure

**Dawn stood with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face as she studied Xander's handiwork. On his living room floor, lying flat was a heavy slab of carved granite.**

"**I'm sorry it took so long… but better right than fast," he said in a subdued voice.**

"**It's perfect, Xan," she assured him. Spike stood behind her with a hand resting on her shoulder. Around her, stood Tara, Willow and Giles. They were also admiring the engraved block of stone.**

"**You've done right good, Love," Spike spoke quietly.**

"**Y-yes…," Giles cleared his throat. "Truly superb work, Xander."**

**The slab was of gray with white marbling along its surface. Into this was engraved:**

**BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS**

**1981-2001**

**Beloved Sister**

**Devoted Friend**

**SHE SAVED THE WORLD. A LOT.**

"**And it's so accurate, too," Tara smiled.**

"**It was Dawn that gave me the idea," Xander explained. He continued to Dawn's surprised reaction, "You said she died a hero. And she did. It reminded me of just how many times she saved everyone."**

**He had to stop as tears flooded his eyes. Spike was immediately beside him and placing a comforting arm around his waist.**

"**I miss her, too," Willow whispered. **

**She wanted to blurt out her belief that they would get her back and that she needed all of their help, but bit her tongue. The time wasn't right to burden them with Buffy's fate; especially not for Giles who was only now no longer looking haggard and lost. Instead she allowed a few tears to slip down her cheeks before putting on a brave front. "When should we take it to her site?"**

**Everyone looked to Dawn instinctively, but they found her taking several steps back. She had grown pale, her arms wrapped in front of her waist. As she noted everyone's stares, she looked even more miserable… and guilty. **

"**I-I don't think I can…. You guys decide. I don't think I can go there again," she said apologetically. "I can't see that place. I'm sorry…. I'm not ready."**

"**It's alright, Dawn," Tara immediately said, though she sounded confused. "It'll be hard for all of us, but we'll set the stone in place. You don't have to come."**

"**Bit? Don't you think you should see it set in place," Spike questioned.**

"**I just can't, Spike! I'm the reason she's there! I can't," Dawn yelled, crying. She took off for the guest bathroom and shut the door with a slam. Behind it, everyone could hear her bawling.**

"**She'll… she'll be okay," Tara said softly. "It'll just take time."**

"**Quite," Giles agreed. "However, the rest of us should set a time to do this task."**

"**How about this Sunday," Xander offered. "I have to work a few hours tomorrow and I can't be sure how long it'll take."**

"**You guys go in the day. I'll stay with Dawn," Spike offered.**

"**You should be there, too, Spike," Xander tried to object.**

"**Xan, I've seen death up close hundreds of times. I don't need the rituals to let go… you guys do what you need to, I'll stick by Dawn."**

"**I suggest we get an early start before the park gets crowded. It'll be odd to see a group of people struggling through the thickets with a granite slab," Giles understated.**

"**How about we meet at the tree-line just before sunrise? The demons will be seeking shelter then and I can perform a ritual to the goddess of the day," Tara said. "It will also give us time to clip the lawn or pull any weeds there. I'll bring hand tools with us."**

"**It's a plan then," Spike said. "I'll stay over tomorrow night at the Slayer's place. Now, I'd better see to our girl."**

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"**Now, ****that**** is very interesting," Vanessa said as she paced in front of the weakly burning fire. Arrayed on the bench before her were Gladys, Tammy and Rachel with their eyes shining in the ambient light. Outside of the recessed windows, the sun was again depressingly bright.**

"**Do we attack tonight," Tammy asked with anticipated excitement. "The brats failed, but we'll subdue your neglectful Sire!"**

"**No. Not quite yet," she said quietly, thinking. "So Spike is helping the red head who just happens to live with the brunette? It appears that Spike has himself a whole little family going. Odd… and disturbing. And you're sure that the red-head remains mortal?"**

"**We're sure," Rachel responded. "She's human," she added with revulsion.**

"**And there's another woman there… also human," Gladys reported. "But there were two others that left and came back after sunset and before dawn. There was something odd about them."**

"**Odd, how?"**

**Gladys looked at her two companions and shrugged at a loss. Tammy took the floor, meeting her sire's questioning gaze.**

"**They appeared to be girls, but something about them rang… 'false' is the only word I can come up with. One was brunette and the other blonde but both moved very similarly. There was something… strange… about the way they walked, the way they swung their arms. I'm sorry, Sire. I don't have the words to describe what exactly was wrong with them."**

"**The mystery deepens…," Vanessa said as she stared into the weak fire and thought.**

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"**Wait, wait, wait," Warren excitedly grabbed the back of Jon and Andrew's chairs later that night.**

"**What's wrong with you," Jonathon asked, startled.**

"**Andy, rewind that last bit," he said.**

**They'd already watched the boring kitchen scene twice and no one but Warren seemed interested in what was happening there. On the computer monitor, three figures moved jerkily backwards around the Slayer's kitchen. When Warren tapped on Andy's shoulder, he started the recording forward again.**

**Aprilbot's viewpoint showed Tara drying dishes and putting them away in the background. Warren paid no attention to her movements. In front of her, Willow and Buffy were talking with the red-head pointing to a map on the counter. It was obviously of Sunnydale, as Willow was instructing Buffy on where her route would be that evening.**

"**Got it," Buffy stated. She looked at April and said, "Let's get started, Faith."**

"**Stop… rewind that bit again, just before she looks at April," Warren exclaimed, puzzling his two cohorts.**

**Again, Andrew rewound the image playing and restarted it forward.**

"**Got it," Buffy said again for the fourth time. She looked at April, "Stop," Warren yelled.**

"**I don't get it," Andy whined.**

"**Re-wind again, this time watch Buffy's eyes… especially the way she blinks when she looks at April," Warren responded mysteriously.**

**Once again, the Trio watched the sequence of events recorded much earlier in the evening. This time both Andrew and Jonathon leaned forward, keeping their eyes on the image of Buffy's.**

"**Yeah, so," Andrew complained.**

"**No way," Jonathon whispered in surprise while staring at Warren.**

"**C'mon guys! What!?"**

"**That isn't Buffy," Warren said, rubbing his mouth. "Where the hell is she?"**

"**What do you mean," Andrew whined again, clearly lost as to what he was supposed to be noticing.**

"**She was blinking her eyes at the exact same rate of speed and timing that the April… sorry, the Faith robot does," Jon said. "There's no way that could happen consistently like that unless…."**

"**That's the Buffy robot I built for the vampire," Warren said.**

"**Are you sure," Andy exclaimed.**

"**Very. That is definitely my work."**

"**So what does this mean," Jon asked him.**

"**It means… the Slayer isn't in town! Tomorrow we do some personal recon around the Summers' house. If she really isn't around, then tomorrow night we go on a crime spree that will make us legends, like Jesse James and uh, other famous robbers!"**

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**Giles sat poring over his papers for the week and readying his update to Council HQ. There wasn't much to report other than the attack of the vampire children, which was surely tied directly to the monster responsible for the missing families. Also on his table sat a reference book on individual vampires and demons faced by past Slayers and Watchers. It was a sort of ad hoc manual describing the personal proclivities of individual creatures. Angelus was in there, as was Spike, Dru and even a short passage on Darla. **

**Giles was pouring through the nearly two-thousand page codex, one of the books released by the Council once Buffy became more 'cooperative', looking for any sign of a vampire who enjoyed tearing the throats of men. Considering Spike's continued vague insistence that he'd seen something similar, he thought perhaps a Watcher in the past may have also noted the modus operandi. So far, he'd gone through the first four hundred pages with nothing to show for it.**

**Giles was just writing his report on Adam… or the lack thereof, when he took his glasses off and rubbed his tired eyes. A moment later, he dropped the spectacles on the table. His eyes were dark… very dark.**

_**I've wasted enough time with this foolishness for one evening, **_**he thought. **_**I deserve a little fun time just for me. It will help me deal with the renewed sorrow over Buffy. **_

**Strangely, he wasn't actually feeling much grief anymore. In fact, what he was really feeling was quite randy… randy and in need of some one soft and pliable crying for him.**

_**Crying for me to stop, **_**Ripper smirked. He grabbed his jacket from the closet and made his way out into the Sunnydale night.**

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End Ch 19


	20. Darker Turns

**Rebuilding**

Ch 20 – Darker Turns

**It was just before noon and Saturday and Giles knocked at the Summers' residence door. When Tara answered, smiling, he gave her a good morning and entered. Willow was once again hard at work on her laptop, it being connected to Faithbot at the moment. On the dining room table was a group of stacked books, one of which was opened about three quarters of the way. Dawn sat on the floor having been watching some god-awful sounding woman warbling off key and slinking in front of some shirtless boys in what he thought a prostitute might feel comfortable in.**

"**Hello ladies, Dawn, are you alright with tomorrow morning," he asked.**

"**Oh… yeah. I mean… mostly," Dawn said, stifling a yawn and looking like she'd had a bad night's rest. **

**(In actuality, Dawn had taken three sleeping pills the night before and was feeling a little hung over.)**

"**W-well, I was hoping that the three of you would do me the honor of allowing me to treat you to lunch," he smiled.**

"**Oh, thanks, Giles! I have so much work to do today though," Willow said apologetically.**

**Tara stepped in, however, "You could use the break, Will. We both could."**

**Something appeared to pass between Tara and Willow, but Giles didn't wish to pry. With a small shrug, Willow agreed, though she didn't seem happy about it and began to log off from the interface with the robot. Upstairs, unknown to Dawn and Giles, were stacked more print-outs and books about Osiris and resurrection gained from Lavinia Mills. Both women had been up since six a.m. scouring through them. If Giles had taken a closer look at the open book on the table, he may have gotten an inkling of what Tara was reading up on these days, but she was quick to mark her page and close it.**

"**Just let me run these books upstairs," she smiled at him. He didn't notice the strain around her eyes.**

"**And you, Dawn… would you humor an old man," he kidded.**

"**Oh, yeah! I can always eat… especially when someone else is paying," she smiled back though it was a struggle. She knew they were worried about her refusal to visit Buffy's grave and when Willow had offered to go with her to Joyce's instead later today, she'd baulked at that, too. She knew somewhere in her mind that she should want to visit the resting places of her family, but she also knew she just didn't.**

_**Maybe the monks made me defective, **_**she thought in self-derision.**

**As the troupe headed out into the warm, sunny day they didn't take much notice of the remote control toys the neighborhood children were playing with. But not all of them were being used by the kids.**

**Andrew, Warren and Jonathon were hidden in a battered, black van parked further down the block. In Jon's van were stacked consoles, a transmitting/receiving antennae, which looked like a CB's, and video monitors. All of the equipment had been purchased in Palm Springs by Warren, using the proceeds of the usable money they'd stolen from the bank. Tucked near the rear doors was the zombie-Adam, a newly installed parabolic dish jutting awkwardly from its abdomen. Adam was inert at the moment and was only there in case they ran into trouble and needed his muscle at a moment's notice.**

**On one monitor, a ground level view zig-zagged across the screen. As the remote controlled car sped behind Giles, Willow, Tara and Dawn the sideway long angle camera lens showed their retreating backs. Taking a sharp left, Andrew piloted the remote camera across the lawn.**

"**They need to cut their grass," he complained.**

"**Will it be able to maneuver to the basement windows," Warren wanted to know.**

"**I think so."**

"**How about you Short-round?"**

**Jonathon's focus was on another screen currently showing little but a slice of sky and tree branches.**

"**Maneuverability is clumsy with the camera's weight," he said. "But I think I've got the hang of it. Moving the 'copter into position; starting with Buffy's bedroom window."**

"**Princess Leia," Andrew automatically corrected him.**

"**I think we can 'can' the code names when we're not undercover outside, Andy," Warren smirked. "Besides, I have trouble remembering which one we're calling Han and what we decided to call Giles."**

"**He's Tarkin," Jon supplied.**

"**And Han is Spike," Andy said with slight exasperation. "Because they're both way cool?"**

"**Whatever. We need to jot these things down," Warren said disinterestedly. "Can you get closer to Buff's window?"**

"**Hold on, I'll try," Jon told him as he fiddled with the controls.**

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**Xander rolled up his sleeves and grabbed some timber from a stack. Carrying the boards over to a retaining wall that was going up, he glanced up into the sunshine. **

"**Better watch it boss," Eddie of the multi-colored hair called from where he was hammering. "I'd hate to have to report you to the union," he said laughing. His hair was the same platinum helmet as Spike, but it was highlighted with purple streaks. His ears had their accustomed array of rings and he'd recently added a diamond chip to one nostril.**

"**And I'd hate to have to put you on the unemployment line," he called back.**

"**Ooh… isn't there laws protecting whistle-blowers?"**

"**Give me a break, Eddie. Don't you know how much torture it is to have to sit in that dark, dank trailer all day long while you guys are having all the fun," he grinned.**

_**He reminds me of Spike, **_**Hyena thought. **_**Bet he has a nice ass on him!**_

_**Oh, God! Stop, **_**Xander blanched.**

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**The girls and Giles sat around the restaurant table over their emptied plates. He had spent his time trying to gauge Dawn's true emotional state, but found himself distracted by both Tara and Willow. They both seemed to be far more exhausted than they had been letting on to him. Willow especially seemed to be under strain, judging by the circles under her eyes she was trying to hide with make-up.**

**As he reached into his wallet, he frowned in confusion. Within, he saw a few ones and a ten, but he could have sworn he had nearly sixty dollars there just a few days prior. In fact, he seemed to be missing a lot of money these days from his wallet. As his frown deepened, he cast his mind back, trying to figure out where he'd been spending his money lately. He certainly hadn't purchased that much scotch within the past week!**

_**Maybe I really am going senile,**_** he thought with a small smile.**

"**Are you alright, Giles," Tara questioned with concern.**

"**Oh, quite! I just seem to have misplaced some money, that's all."**

"**Oh! Here, Giles, I can take care of it," Willow offered.**

"**No, no! I invited you out and am very pleased you accepted," he smiled, waving away his confusion. "And these are the times that American Express was made for!"**

"**Do you think I can get a slice of hot fudge, chocolate cake to go," Dawn asked.**

"**Dawn…." Willow frowned. After all, Giles had just admitted he was short of cash.**

"**What? I'm a growing girl. Plus I'm stuck with a summer of school! I need something to lift my spirits."**

"**That's quite alright," Giles smiled. "I'm planning on getting a slice of apple pie myself for later," he assured them as the waitress approached for the bill.**

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**At the Summers' home, the toy helicopter was buzzing and weaving from window to window erratically. In the van, Jonathon had to keep glancing away from the monitor as the unsteady image on screen was making him nauseous.**

**On the second monitor, Andrew was looking through the basement windows into a heavily shadowed room. He strained his eyes for several minutes in irritation.**

"**This is stupid," he complained. "Buffy isn't going to be hanging in her basement. And plus, I'd need a spotlight just to see anything decently. It's giving me a headache."**

"**Okay, okay," Warren said, "Bring the car back. What about the 'copter, Short-round?"**

"**I wish you'd stop calling me that," he answered. "But so far, no Buffy. No movement at all either, except the cat wandering on the counter tops in the kitchen."**

"**Any sign of the 'Buffy' or 'Faith'," Warren said with air quotes.**

"**Nothing so far."**

"**Well, they're in there. Let's land the chopper and get out of here. I'm sure we would have seen a sign of the Slayer if she was around."**

"**Maybe she's over at Xander's… I mean over at Chewie's," Andrew suggested.**

"**Well, we know where his apartment is… I say we scope it out," Warren said.**

"**But we have to hit a McDonald's," Jon insisted. "I really have to pee."**

"**Ooh! I want a Big Mac," Andrew squealed.**

_**This**__** is my elite crime syndicate,**_** Warren thought with a sigh.**

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**Later that night, Spike roamed across Rainbow Park. In front of him, the Faithbot was robotically turning her head this way and that, staring off into the darkness. On the other side of the park, the condominium complex that Glory had used lay in shambled ruins. A development company had quickly stepped in to buy the land, but clearing of the wreckage was slow going.**

"**Thanks for coming out, Wicca. I needed somebody to talk to about Xan," he said to the woman patrolling with him.**

"**Oh, it's no trouble Spike," she returned distractedly. It wasn't that she was indifferent to Spike's concerns, but she had her own at the moment. Willow was left home with Dawn so who knew what she was up to. Despite her best efforts, she realized that she feared that Willow would try a resurrection spell on the fly behind her back and only the Lord knew what would happen after that. She placed a comforting hand on his arm anyway as they walked, but she was bothered by her distrust of her girlfriend.**

"**Has anything happened again with his Hyena-spirit?"**

"**Not really. But… well, uh, we haven't… done anything since that night. I know that Xander is getting frustrated. He's ready to go to the next step, I think."**

"**But you're hesitant? Because of the animal-personality?"**

"**How am I going to find the vampires with you two jawing back there so loud," the Faithbot called back. **

**When Spike and Tara glanced ahead of them, they found the robot with arms crossed and scowling at them. She was tapping a foot in impatience with them.**

"**Sorry," Tara automatically said.**

"**Why don't you fuck off," Spike stated. "Nobody is talking to you, you mobile toaster oven!"**

"**Spike…." Tara said, uncomfortable with his harsh language.**

"**Listen you stupid vampire, if you're going to patrol then you do it with your mouth shut or get away from me so I can do my job!"**

"**We need to talk," Tara cut in before a brawl could erupt. "Why don't you go search the collapsed building for awhile? Come back when you're done, okay?"**

"**Fine," Faithbot huffed and went into a jog across the park.**

"**Your girl did way too good a job on that machine," Spike complained.**

"**I keep telling her to stop tinkering with it," Tara sighed. "But I think it helps her think. Plus there's something going on with its batteries or something that I don't really understand."**

"**So, anyway," Spike shrugged, "I'm worried that this thing with Xan is going to come crashing to a halt before we've even given it a decent try, you know? Which, by the way, is not 'demon thinking'; I hope this silicon wafer in my noggin' isn't driving me bonkers."**

"**Have you sat down and talked to him?"**

"**Vampires aren't good with the heart to hearts, Luv. We more command, threaten, bully and take what we want. This whole 'relationship' business is new to me."**

"**You had a relationship with Dru," she reminded him sympathetically. "From what the diaries say, you and her had something very close to a human love affair."**

"**You've been reading up on me," he asked in an amused manner.**

"**W-Well, back when we were keeping you chained in Giles' bathtub and then later during your stay in the Harris basement; i-it just seemed like a good idea to know what I was getting into. Giles let me brief myself on what they knew about you. Uh, was that railroad spike thing true?"**

"**True enough. I only did it to a select few; don't know how I became so associated with it. That upset you? It was a long time ago, you know."**

**Tara took a moment to respond, but then she gave him a smile. "Spike, I know that you've done horrible things. I mean, it was natural for you, I guess. I don't hold any animosity about it. I was just curious."**

"**Well, you don't need to worry about things like that these days. And not just 'cause of the chip clinging to my grey matter."**

"**I believe you. So, back to Xander: I think I'll be ready to try a spell to root out his alternate personality in a few more weeks. I'm waiting for a potion to ferment. Hopefully, once that's done you can get back on track. You never did tell us how she upset you so much…."**

"**I don't want to say," Spike said. He seemed to close up in front of her.**

**Reaching out again, she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Spike, if you think he's in danger because of this personality, we really need to know what you know."**

**He shrugged. "She just… it was in the heat of the moment… she offered herself to me."**

**Spike started walking again, shoulder hunched and hands dug deep into the pockets of the new leather jacket that Xander and Dawn had picked up for him. Tara followed with a worried frown.**

"**I'm not sure I understand. Offered herself? Like… offered to have an affair? With his body? Or…?"**

"**She offered me her neck; to let me bite her," he turned in the witch's direction. Tara could see the shadow of worry crossing over his features. "She was playing on my aggression… my need to 'claim' him… as a mate and consort."**

"**Goddess," she whispered. "I had no idea. Does Xander know?"**

"**He knows I'm upset and that I won't get naked with him."**

"**But you haven't told him?"**

"**No," Spike said. "Tara… I don't want him afraid of me. But this spirit… when she's in charge of the body, she thinks that I can bite her… him… and… and a large part of me wants to try it; wants it bad."**

"**I'd never feed on him," he exclaimed suddenly due to her sudden scared expression. "But… the claim mark… it's important to us… to vampires. I swore to him we'd do this the human way. If Giles even suspected that I was thinking about claiming Xander, he'd waste no time staking me. He's made his displeasure about us perfectly clear. But… I'm a demon, Tara! I can't help the thoughts that go through my brain, can I?"**

"**I'm not sure I'm comfortable with 'claim'. Are you saying she wants you to vamp him?!" **

"**No, no. A 'claim bite' is a way of marking a mortal as your property. You're telling other vamps or any demon perceptive enough to keep their hands or tentacles to themselves. It's about "this is mine". That's why I don't want to do it to Xander. We're not about owning."**

"**But the animal spirit knows just which of your buttons to push anyway," Tara intuited.**

"**Well, us demons? A lot of our behavior is very… animalistic, for want of a better term, if you stop to think about it. Hunting, stalking, tearing throats… list goes on."**

"**But you're more than that, Spike," Tara said with feeling, believing she was seeing his real worry. "You know that don't you? You're not just a mindless predator, Spike. Monsters don't have fifteen year old girls light up when they walk in the room. And I don't care for monsters. But Dawn and I ****do**** care for you, very much. You're a person, Sweetie. And I'm going to fix this thing with Xan and you and he are going to be fine. I promise."**

**Spike blew out a breath of air into the night. "I knew talking to you would feel better," he grinned.**

**Tara's reply was cut off by the sound of shattering glass.**

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End Chapter 20


	21. Adversaries

**Rebuilding**

Ch 21 – Adversaries

**When Spike rounded a corner of the building he immediately felt the presence of several vampires and looked for the Faithbot. She wasn't hard to track down, what with the sounds of fighting emanating from the wreckage. He glanced back toward Tara who was still ten feet behind him and struggling to catch up.**

"**In here… I'll go! You stay out here and have a spell ready!"**

**As he rushed into the dark, his enhanced eyesight allowed him to avoid the crushed beams, hanging slabs of wood, tangles of wires and jagged shards of glass splinters that jutted at all angles around him and on the floor. He heard the pained growl of a vampire somewhere ahead of him and then the sounds of a heavy body, probably the robot's, smash through something.**

**As he dashed into what appeared to have been part of the upper balcony of the lobby, now laying in ruins at ground level, he noted there were three vampire women. All of them were dressed in dirty, but modern, clothing. He recognized two of them from their pictures in the paper. They were the women missing with their husbands (a few of which had been found) and their kids (who were now ash).**

**Faithbot lay in a heap, a twisted section of pylon lying atop her skull. Naturally, there was no blood, but green cooling fluid was splashed around the area. She wasn't moving.**

"**Care to take on someone a little tougher, Ladies," he swaggered in. He was focusing on his sense of sight and smell to note details no human could have picked up. He could practically feel their presence now like a notebook on their general health and strength. They wouldn't be presenting much of a problem… it looked like Tara was going to miss out on this one.**

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**A few blocks from the battle about to be waged among vampires, Adam was tearing through a doorway of the California Institute of Gemology. Despite the sound of its name, it was actually a private company and not an educational establishment, though the staff did volunteer for a few gem and jewelry related electives at both U.C. Sunnydale and its sister school outside of town, the Kent Preparatory School.**

**The business was equipped with multiple alarm systems, including motion detectors within and multi-angle cameras. They were even equipped with a redundant system that would activate and send an automated page to the manager in charge of security should the first fail. Despite this, Adam entered the building; no alarms sounding.**

**In 'The Cantina', Warren grinned maniacally. Neither Jonathon nor Andrew were there, as Warren had told them that they would wait one more day to ensure that Buffy wasn't spotted in town. Then they would hit the Sunny Valley Precious Metals Emporium where they would clean them out of their gold and silver stocks. They had no idea that Warren was working on his own get rich project.**

**He glanced at the monitor for April and found static displayed across the screen. With curiosity he turned up the speaker volume. He could hear a man's voice in the background and then a woman, but it was so badly garbled that he couldn't make sense of any of it.**

"**Damn," he said to himself. "Well, Willow… looks like we're going to see just how good you really are."**

**With this he turned the volume back down and ignored whatever fate had befallen April. He was far more interested in what Adam was doing at the moment.**

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"**Ahh, the famous Spike," Gladys stated with a smirk.**

"**You have me at a disadvantage," he smirked back.**

"**More than you realize," Tammy said, before adding her own belated smirk.**

**Before Spike registered what their aim was, she and the third and so far silent one (who hadn't had a chance to smirk yet) had grabbed a fallen beam. With a hard push, the beam shifted and Spike realized his cockiness had led him astray once again as hundreds of pounds of debris came raining down around him.**

**Even as he attempted to dodge out of the way, he felt himself pummeled to the ground. An awful weight was left pinning him to the floor and despite his best efforts he found they wouldn't budge. Though he didn't think it was strictly the weight of the debris, but more that he didn't have the leverage he needed.**

_**Just like in Glory's penthouse, I'm fucking screwed because of physics, **_**he silently raged.**

**Tammy was suddenly bending down over him and he glared at her as best as he could with his face being pressed immobile against the ground.**

"**Don't worry, Spike. Ours isn't to kill you," she smiled. She brought a long, sharp fingernail perilously close to one of his eyeballs before running it down his cheek and drawing blood. "We're just the messengers."**

"**And w-what's the message, Bitch," he asked defiantly.**

**She leaned in even closer until she could whisper intimately into his ear, "Remember Philly."**

**With this odd statement, she and the rest of the mothers began to wander deeper into the wreckage, disappearing in the darkness. Spike was left having absolutely no clue who the women were speaking for or what the fuck 'Philly' meant. He wracked his brain trying to recall any demons by that name when he heard Tara coughing.**

"**S-spike?! Spike, are you alright? Answer me!"**

"**I'm here, Ducks. Don't worry… I'm just a little pinned."**

**He listened as Tara came closer, carefully picking her way through. In only minutes, he could see the beam of her little flashlight playing across the floor and what was left of the walls. "Am I close," he heard her ask.**

"**Very. I'm right down here… but watch it. We got vampires in here and I don't know how stable this shit on top of us is. If things start groaning, you beat feet… you hear?"**

"**I'm not leaving you," she said as she bent over him on her knees. "Where are the monsters?"**

"**Took off, I think. Just watch your back. Think you can magic some of this junk off me? I don't have the leverage…."**

"**Goddess, this is a mess. Hold on."**

**Tara sat down on the dirty ground as cross legged as she could in her long skirt and began a whispered chant. After a few minutes of this, with Spike about to tell her to go get help, the metal beam holding him just below the neck began to rise. He heard Tara grunt with effort and then he was suddenly able to pull himself out from under the heavy beam.**

**With him no longer trapped, Tara released her magical hold on the debris which crashed loud enough to cause a ringing in her ears. She looked around in a panic, afraid that she might have started an avalanche of metal and glass, but things remained stable.**

"**Are you alright," she asked him.**

"**I'm more concerned about you," he said. To her questioning look, he pointed at her face, "You're bleeding from the nose."**

**She took a quick swipe with her fingers, wiping the blood distastefully on her jacket. "I think it's okay. It's not bad."**

"**That was damned dangerous. I don't want you putting yourself at risk over me."**

"**Spike," she sighed, "You're family. I would have done the same thing for any of you. Now, what about Faithbot?"**

"**Over there. She's pretty well out of it."**

"**Darn. It looks like she's pinned, too. We'll have to come back with Willow. I don't think I can lift all this by myself without blowing up my brain. It's a lucky thing the vampires didn't stake you or bite you again before I got in here."**

"**No luck about it, Dear. They were just delivering a message."**

"**You're kidding."**

"**Nope. 'Remember Philly'. That's what they said."**

**As Tara and Spike picked their way back through the wreckage to the outside fresh air, Tara puzzled. "Ugh… this dirt is never going to come out of this skirt. I really liked this skirt. So what do you think the message was trying to say?"**

"**You got me. I don't know any 'Philly'."**

"**Do you have a mortal sandwich enemy," she asked with a grin.**

**He looked at her like she was speaking Martian.**

"**You know," she said with a little embarrassed shrug, "Philly cheese steak?"**

**She gave him a nervous giggle, but Spike was frowning in concentration. A moment later, he shifted unexpectedly into game face, startling her.**

"**Vanessa," he said harshly.**

"**Who?"**

"**A blast from the past," he explained as he searched around them. He was looking to make sure they weren't about to be ambushed. "I know who's doing the throat tearing and she's going to wish she hadn't followed me here."**

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**At the same time, Xander and Giles were also patrolling. They had attached themselves to the Buffybot and were quickly approaching the C.I.G., though not because they had any idea that there was anything amiss.**

"**I am very excited to have my Watcher joining me," the robot was exclaiming. "A Slayer is always more effective when Watched by her Watcher!"**

"**Honestly, must she be so… peppy," Giles asked askance at Xander.**

"**I'd take peppy any day over Faithbot's glaring," he replied.**

"**I am detecting a large, humanoid life-form not matching human characteristics nearby," the robot said. For a moment the smile disappeared from her face… but only for a moment. "Perhaps it's a creature of the night! Are you ready to evaluate my effectiveness," she asked her Watcher.**

**As Xander grinned, Giles just rolled his eyes, "Let's just investigate, shall we?"**

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**At the Summers' home, Dawn was flipping through channels on television stopping to watch a few minutes of one show after another before moving on. Willow had been downstairs in the basement forever and she was both bored and curious. She had thought that Will used the basement for robot-repair, but the 'bots were out doing their thing. Sighing, she left the T.V. running and went to the freezer for ice cream.**

**As she opened the drawer for a spoon, the light glinted off of one of the knives in the drawer, catching the light along its edge. Dawn stood for several heartbeats, entranced as she unconsciously rubbed at the scar on her arm before giving herself a shake. When she reached into the drawer, she grabbed the spoon and closed it. She swallowed the urge to cry before she could break down again.**

**Downstairs, Willow glanced at the ceiling above her head as she heard Dawn's footfalls entering the kitchen. She had one hand sitting on her laptop's flipped open screen, ready to close it quickly if the girl opened the door.**

_**I really need Xander to install a lock, **_**she thought. **_**And if Dawn starts bugging me, I swear I'm going to spell her to sleep.**_

**She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Dawn's footsteps going back toward the living room. Returning to the Watcher Council's database, she scrolled through their listing of antiquities. They're internal search engine wasn't very efficient, which annoyed her to no end. While she scrolled through their inventory, she also kept any eye on the magically enhanced spybot software she had running. It was monitoring for any signs that they had detected her incursion so that she would be able to exit before they could trace her.**

**Reaching the bottom of the list of one hundred sixty items, she sighed in disappointment and frustration. Though they had a few items and a lot of books on Osiris, the Urn wasn't among them according to their own manifests.**

**Carefully, she backed out of the intruded upon system and disconnected from COUNCILNET. **

"**Damn it," she whispered. **_**Tara and I need that Urn for this to work. There has got to be one left somewhere that we can get our hands on!**_

**She rubbed her tired eyes and thought of Buffy waiting on her, pleading with her. She couldn't stop the tears of mental pain and just plain exhaustion that began to flow from her eyes.**

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**Giles and Xander followed the Buffy robot around a squat building with a sign in stainless steel lettering in front of it. As they approached from the parking lot behind the gemology institute, they could see that the rear security door had been torn from its hinges.**

"**Adam," Xander whispered in question to Giles.**

"**Buffy, could this be Adam," Giles called quietly to the robot.**

"**The humanoid's height does match my Adam profile," she said in a normal tone of voice. "I will investigate and engage the breaker and enterer."**

**Before Giles could stop her, the robot went into a dash across the tarmac leaving him and Xander to begin jogging to catch up. **

**As the two men cautiously approached the entranceway, they could hear the sounds of a struggle going on. Before they could decide whether to join the robot in the building's interior, however, the robot was sent flying out at them.**

"**Blood hell," Giles yelled startled as the robot collided with him, taking them both down to the pavement.**

"**Giles, are you alright," Xander yelled himself as he bent by the Brit. He grabbed Buffybot by her arm to help her up off of Giles, but she shook him off and made another run for the back door of the Institute.**

"**Ow," Giles complained.**

"**Yeah…, but hey! You're not knocked out this time," he grinned.**

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**On the monitor in the Trio's abandoned iron works, Warren watched as Adam's arm swung into view, cleanly swiping over the Buffy robot's head. He was frowning deeply, as Adam was holding a bag of gemstones in one hand and he was torn between wanting his zombie to fight more effectively, and wanting him to bring the gems back. When he saw the Buffybot go into a side kick and then saw chaos on the screen as Adam was sent flying back into a display case, he made his decision… not happily.**

"**Adam, drop the gemstones. Engage the robot… proceed to the exit and run. Your new target is 'Homebase'."**

**On the monitor, Adam had grabbed the Buffybot's face with both hands, showing he'd followed instructions. As he attempted to twist the robot's head off, she double-palmed him up into his face. Moments later and he sent the Buffybot flying off of the screen to his left. **

**Warren watched as the camera's view showed him approaching the gem store's exit.**

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**Xander and Giles were standing near the exit when a large, lumbering form burst outward and knocking them both to the pavement this time. Giles complained loudly about hitting the ground again at the same time the Buffy robot dashed by.**

**Adam had begun to run in an awkward gait, but the robot made an incredible eight foot leap and managed to wrap her arms around his legs. As he struggled to continue running, she held on with very human-sounding effort.**

"**Geez," Xander yelled as he fumbled to retrieve his ax from the ground.**

**Giles, still half crumpled, got to one knee and aimed his small crossbow. He let the bolt fly free and gave a small triumphant smile as it hit the middle of Adam's withered and leathery back. While he began loading another bolt, Xander ran for the cyber-zombie.**

**Buffybot had been knocked loose and Adam had begun his build up of speed when he suddenly came to a complete halt. He turned in her and her best friend's and her Watcher's direction. Buffybot grinned at Xander as he ran past, hefting his ax and giving a battle cry.**

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**On the monitor, Warren watched Adam's right arm come into view as he raised it in Xander Harris' direction. **

"**Fire!"**

**He watched as Xander, nearly eight feet away, suddenly stumbled and fell to the pavement.**

"**Now, Adam, ready the secondary gun and aim for the robot. Fire when she's in range and then return to base," he said angrily. **_**I really wanted those sapphires, damn it**_**, he glared at the monitor.**

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**The Buffy robot watched in confusion as best-friend-Xander fell heavily to the ground. He'd dropped his ax and was holding his hands in front of his ears. With a glance, she found that her Watcher was on his hand and knees behind them, where he too was trying with effort to block one of his ears.**

**The robot could detect the hypersonic frequencies being emitted by Adam, but it was having no effect on her systems. Pulling up the relevant data files, she understood that the sonic frequencies being utilized were incapacitating her human companions and she determined she had to stop them.**

**As she rushed toward Adam, she noted that the parabolic dish haphazardly and illogically jutting outward from his abdomen was giving off a soft blue glow. Ignoring this, she didn't alter her vector of approach.**

**Deep inside where Adam's intestines used to be, a large diamond was mounted to a mystically enhanced apparatus. This apparatus held the diamond in place just before an electrical emitter. As Adam powered up the dish, an electrical discharge was fired into the diamond sitting before it.**

**This burst of energy excited the non-corporeal Ice Spirit which Andrew had summoned and Jonathon had bound and imprisoned within it. The Spirit itself was non-sentient and reacted to the energetic particles by releasing a burst of super cold, heat sapping energy of its own which was captured and focused by the mystical injector obtained by Jon.**

**Split seconds later, the injector had transferred the energy to the parabolic dish, immediately causing frost and ice crystal to begin forming. But before it could freeze Adam solid, it was projected out leaving a trail of intense cold and colliding with whatever was in front of the dish.**

**In this case, one robot.**

**Buffybot detected the sudden change in temperature, but before she could determine what was happening, all of her systems began to shut down. Around her, ice was interfering with her optical and audio sensors. She could feel her coolant beginning to crystallize and found her limbs become immobile. When her onboard temperature regulator indicated danger to her higher brain functions, power was automatically routed to her internal heating coils. This had the effect of diverting energy from the rest of her systems and in effect placed her in a stasis-like state.**

**In the control room, Warren laughed with glee that their new freeze cannon had actually worked. Jonathon insisted they were going to lose Adam, but Warren had been confident in his design work.**

**Adam's view turned away from Buffy's friends and Warren watched as the scenery began to speed by; Adam beginning his return run back to base.**

_**I can't wait to tell the others, **_**he whooped with laugher, **_**I AM the King of Sunnydale!**_

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"**Holy crap," Xander exclaimed when he could sit upright again. He wasn't sure what had happened to him, but Adam had pulled something out of the air and he'd suddenly been overcome with dizziness and nausea. He might even have grayed out for a minute… he couldn't be sure.**

"**I say," Giles exclaimed himself as he helped Xander to his feet. **

**When he looked at him, Giles was staring in open mouth wonder across the lot. Xander looked then and felt his own mouth drop open.**

**The Buffybot was suspended off of the ground by a few inches. Surrounding her was a cocoon of what appeared to be ice. Like a mini-iceberg had swallowed her up… like Captain America in the comics.**

"**Somebody has been upgrading," Xander said.**

"**An Icelandic Ice Spirit, if I'm not mistaken," Giles opinioned.**

"**So, what the heck do we do now?"**

"**Uh…" Giles said as he pulled out his cell phone.**

**A minute later and Xander heard him ask Lieutenant Stein to meet them in the parking lot with a crow bar and hammer.**

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End Chapter 21


	22. Indiscretion

**Rebuilding**

Ch 22 – Indiscretion

**Spike paced furiously back and forth in front of the Summers' sofa as Dawn watched him, her head moving like she was watching a tennis match. Tara was in the kitchen brewing a pot of coffee and had already laid out a notebook and pencil for note-taking.**

**He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out his pack of smokes. Tapping one out, he began to fumble for the lighter.**

"**Spike…?"**

"**Yeah, Bit," he said distractedly.**

"**Smoking. House. Big no."**

"**Huh? Oh, right. Bloody second hand smoke and all that rot. I'll be on the front porch."**

**When Spike opened the door, he found Xander and Giles struggling to haul the Buffy robot inside. She was immobile and had water and slush dropping from her onto the porch and then the hall carpet with wet splashes. In the background, Rick's car pulled off and accelerated with its magnetic bubble-light sending a revolving red flash into the darkness.**

"**What's this, then?"**

"**Hey, Baby," Xander stretched for a quick kiss. "We've brought home a Buffybot-cicle."**

"**Uh-huh. What, you met a demonic Frosty the Snowman?"**

"**It was Adam," Giles said with a grunt as he and Xan lowered the robot to the floor in the entranceway. "Somebody has been modifying him… I believe it must be Warren Meers."**

"**Anyone who could make two sexbots has my vote as being able to alter a robo-zombie," Xander agreed.**

"**Wow… will she be okay," Dawn asked from behind Spike.**

**Before anyone could answer, they heard another female voice, "Goddess… oh, what happened to her?"**

"**Adam," Spike supplied.**

"**Think you could finish thawing her out," Xander asked her.**

"**I don't think I should try magic on a robot," she said worriedly. "It's unpredictable as it is. Willow! Willow, come upstairs," Tara yelled toward the back of the house.**

"**I'm afraid we lost the Aprilbot for now, too," Spike revealed to the newcomers. "And I've got news on our new vamp."**

"**Yeah, what's going on," Willow's voice revealed she'd joined them. "Wow. A spell?"**

"**I believe it's the work of an Ice Spirit," Giles said. "Though how Adam was able to utilize it, I'm not sure."**

"**They were asking about a de-thaw spell," Tara told her. "But I'm worried about sending magic at a machine."**

"**I don't think it'll be necessary… she seems to be thawing on her own," Willow pointed out. "A-and her internal systems are pretty well sealed."**

"**T-then she'll be okay," Dawn asked her in a small and worried voice.**

"**Well… I'll need to check her over before we risk powering her up. But I think she theoretically should be perfectly operable. We better get a truckload of towels though!"**

"**I have a wet vac at the site," Xander said. "I'll run over and grab it."**

"**I'm going with you. No one is leaving my sight."**

"**Uh… unless we're all squeezing into Xan's car, that might be impractical," Dawn grinned at him.**

"**Just you girls stay inside. And don't be inviting anyone in until we get back," he growled, not amused.**

"**What's your deal," Willow sulked.**

"**He knows who the vampire is," Tara told her. "The one who turned the kids that attacked Dawn and her friends? But he won't share."**

"**I'll share. I just didn't want to have to repeat myself," he corrected her. "When Xan and I get back, we'll all have a cuppa and a story."**

"**Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like this story," Xander questioned him.**

"**You knew I had a past, Love," Spike pointed out.**

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"**That should be enough of a clue for even my thick as a brick and self-involved as a runway model Sire to figure out," Vanessa complimented her vampiric trio.**

"**Aren't you worried," Gladys asked, "About him hunting us down before we're ready?"**

"**Oh, I'm ready dearest," she said in return. **

**Vanessa walked over to the firewood box that sat next to the old fireplace. It probably hadn't held any wood since the place was abandoned. Now she opened it to reveal four crossbow guns, each already loaded with bolts.**

"**Each of these has been coated with Russurik Spawn Juice, so be careful with them. They'll affect even us. Once we shoot Spike with them he'll be completely paralyzed up to ten hours. Just whatever you do, avoid the heart!"**

"**And then what," Rachel said with clear anticipation.**

"**And then Spike is going to get a little floor show starring the dark haired girl and as many of the others as we can get our hands on. And when I'm sure that he's ready to stake himself to escape my torments… only then will I send him back to Hell," she smiled wickedly.**

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**When Xander, Spike and Giles returned to the house with the wet-vac, the Buffy robot had been covered in towels but was still lying where they'd dropped her off. Tara had given a shrug, stating that they hadn't been strong enough to move it.**

"**I wanted to levitate it, but ****somebody**** is being a worry-wart about magic and technology mixing," Willow said snidely.**

"**We talked about the risks," Tara said reasonably, "It's not worth it."**

"**Adam is obviously using some magic," Willow pointed out again.**

"**Willow," she said with an edge in her voice, "I don't want to rehash this again."**

"**I-it's alright ladies," Giles intervened. "The men will move her out of the way of the hall later. Perhaps we can get her downstairs."**

"**Coffee is on," Tara said, turning on her heel with a last look at Willow and squeezed around the robot into the dining room. On the table sat a steaming carafe.**

**Once they had settled down, they all looked to Spike for information.**

"**It's like this… about 1920, 1921 me and Dru were traveling the Eastern seaboard. We were enjoying Philadelphia… quite the night life, it had…," he drifted off in reminiscence. **

"**Spike," Dawn asked with a quick glance at Xander. It felt a little rude for Spike to be thinking about Skank-Ass Dru when Xan was right here.**

"**Yeah, well… anyway… we were in Philly. We had one of our passionate, but short lived spats. See, there was this bloke… a real bruiser type that she had an eye for. Really irritated me, it did. So we had this knock-down fight; well… mostly it was her knocking me around. Dru may be mad as a hatter, but she was more than capable of beating the snot out of her sired at the time, especially with me not feeling right with hitting her back."**

"**What a gentleman," Xander grinned at him.**

"**Pshaw! Yeah, right. No, it was just she was my Sire, yeah? Couldn't just hit her. So anyway, she runs off into the night and I'm throwing a temper tantrum when this tart strolls up to me. She was some Chorus line girl or some such," Spike shook his head at his past foolishness. "Anyway, she was given me the obvious eye and I figured if Dru could sire me, then why not me siring somebody else?"**

"**So the vampire in town is one of the Aurelius clans'," Giles said thoughtfully.**

"**Not really. I guess technically," Spike nodded. "But since I didn't much get into the whole clan thing she didn't get much of a history lesson. Anyway, I turned her."**

"**So why is she here," Dawn asked.**

"**Getting to that part," Spike nodded. "You see, like I said, Dru's and my spats never lasted long. She came back, all apologies, and I took her back without much fuss. But Dru… she wasn't much into sharing unless it was on her terms. She ordered me to dump Vanessa, which I did without a fight. I should have just staked the bitch, but…."**

"**So she's pissed off at you," Xander said. "Why now? Why here?"**

"**How long were you and Vanessa… uh… together? Is that an appropriate term," Tara asked.**

"**Only a few days; if it amounted to a week I'd be surprised. I didn't have much interest in her to begin with, did I? I was just surly at Dru when I turned her. As to why now? Who bloody knows? Maybe she just found me… Dru and I tended to wander a lot all over the world. Or maybe she's here for the Hellmouth and I just happened to here as well? I don't know. Guess it don't much matter, she's here and I have to deal with her."**

"**We have to deal with her," Xander pointed out.**

"**This is personal business," Spike insisted. "I don't want you guys involved. I'll deal with my own mess. You all just stay hunkered down until I tell you its safe."**

"**Why does she tear men's throats," Giles wondered.**

"**I can guess she's taking out her anger at me on all men," Spike shrugged. "Or maybe she's just half-nuts like me. Again, who knows? Point being… my mess, my problem."**

"**Uh-uh. Not the way it works," Xander told him. "Around here, we all work to fix each other's screw ups."**

"**Look, Love… appreciate the thought…"**

"…**Willow," Xander interrupted Spike, "A little resolve-face action, here, please. We're not hiding while this loon is out there. We all work together to take her down, right?"**

"**Sure," Willow gave him a small smile. Actually though, Spike was right in her estimation. He made this mess and they had enough to do without getting dragged into it. Still, she supposed this was a 'best friend duty' thing, so she agreed.**

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End Chapter 22


	23. Morning 27

**Rebuilding**

Ch 23 – Morning 27

_**Twenty seven days since she died, **_**Spike thought. He was standing in Dawn's open doorway and listening to her deep, shallow breathing. **_**Twenty seven days Buffy and it both feels like yesterday and like months and months ago. Wonder if it's the same for everyone, or just the evil demons? Damn it! You should be here for her.**_

**He gently shut the door on the sleeping teen and retired downstairs where he flipped through stations until he found an old South American football game being repeated. The volume was turned very low and he only half listened as he thought of Xander and the rest of them at Buffy's gravesite. A site that, even if he'd gone, he wouldn't have been able to get close to without some major physical discomfort. Tara's protective spells were holy-water based to keep things like him away from the Slayer.**

_**Evil things…**_** he thought distractedly. He was he knew. He knew when he'd first awoken after death that he was inextricably tied to the Great Darkness and he'd reveled in the feeling of power it engendered. He'd been able to do anything, or so he'd believed. Angelus sort of put the kibosh on his thinking he was 'all that'. **

**And now here he was, trying so hard to be something else and failing. He wanted to bite Xander; to claim him which included, despite what he'd told Tara, feeding on his blood. He'd brought Vanessa to them and had nearly gotten Dawn and her teen friends killed. He might still get them killed. Obviously Vanessa had been stalking him and he hadn't even detected her. The Sire-Sired bond was nearly non-existent due either to neglect or just his inexperience and lack of enthusiasm in the turning to begin with. He wondered if poor Vanessa had gotten stuck somehow between the turning that Dru did for him and the 'minion' creation that she'd used on the blokes sent to kick his ass on her way out of town. She obviously felt much betrayed… like a true Sired, but she didn't have the feelings for him that she should have. He would have detected her if so, even if he felt nothing for her in return… that was just the way it worked. On the other hand, if she'd just been a minion, she wouldn't be out to revenge herself upon him. She'd just find another master eventually, like the random vampires they dealt with nearly nightly here in the 'Dale.**

**He shouldn't have stayed here. He shouldn't have promised Buffy to look after Dawn. He was just placing all of them in greater danger.**

_**So leave, **_**he thought to himself. **_**You don't have bags to pack… just throw on your jacket and go tonight.**_

_**It's not that easy, anymore, **_**he answered himself. He knew he'd never leave them.**

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**Tara stood from her kneeled position in grass, her pants wet from the morning dew. With a smile and a nod, Giles and Xander again struggled to pick up and carry the heavy granite tablet that was to serve as Buffy's final marker.**

**Ahead of them as they walked, thistles and thorn branches bended away from them. A rough path opened, allowing them to avoid most of the trouble with reaching Buffy's burial ground. For the stray thicket still blocking the way, Willow uttered short mystic words, burning them out of the way instead.**

**When they had reached the spot, again Tara bent on her knees and offered a supplication to the spirits of nature that as a Wicca she was in tune with. Willow, on the other hand, immediately set to clipping the overgrown grass and weeds. In the meanwhile, Xander and Giles worked to dig a shallow trench for the stone to rest in and then set it in its place.**

**They worked quietly and unhurriedly, each lost in their own thoughts. For Willow, these were mostly dark and painful. She knew they were wasting their time with all of this since Buffy was coming back. She also knew that it could be months before they were prepared to get her and in the meantime who knew how much suffering she was being caused. She hadn't heard from her friend's spirit in too many nights now and that had her nearly panicked with the thought that Buffy had given in to despair in whatever Hell she'd ended up in.**

**Tara was far more serene about what they were doing here, though no less upset than Willow for what Buffy was suffering. Where Willow wanted to bring Buffy back, Tara was more interested in just making sure she was released to her true destiny of rest. She hadn't brought up to Willow that Buffy's body was in no shape to receive her at this point… they hadn't even embalmed her. That seemed too cruel to say aloud, though she knew that when the time came for them to rescue her, she'd have to tell Willow what they really needed to do. Bringing the dead back to life was still impossible, even mystically.**

**Xander was occupied with thoughts and worry of Dawn. She'd been going back to classes and staying in school. He'd used the Buffybot to check on her. But her grades were still in a slump and the principal wasn't satisfied with her progress. He was afraid that they hadn't escaped the scrutiny of Social Services after all. He also desperately, heart-achingly missed Buffy. Like everyday. He could still remember her smile most clearly and he constantly looked through his photo album, afraid that he'd forget her eyes or her laugh or all of those little details that human memory tended to misplace.**

**For Giles, it was guilt. Raw, chewing guilt that he hadn't been more help to her. In his darkest subconscious, he knew he should have smothered Dawn as soon as he found out she was the Key that Glory had wanted. Naturally, these dark fantasies remained unrecognized to his conscious mind. He loved Dawn… but he loved Buffy more, and without a spell.**

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"**Hey, Spike," interrupted the vampire's morose and self-pitying thoughts. **

_**And not a moment too soon, **_**he thought. **_**Getting to be a regular Whiney McBroody.**_

"**Hey, Bit. Want me to make you something for breakfast? Can't promise it won't be burnt, but you should be able to choke it down."**

**She smiled and it made him feel better, by a little bit. "Nah… much as 'burnt' sounds delicious, I think I'm in the mood for cereal. Besides, my bed's free so you can go crash."**

"**I think I should stay up 'til the others get back."**

"**Spike," she sighed, "I'm safe, okay. And… I'm not 'la-la-la' happy, but I'm okay, too. I don't need you hovering over me. Really."**

"**Well… if you're sure. But no running off."**

"**I'm just going to call Jan and see if she wants to come over and watch tv."**

"**Yeah, alright," he said before making his way upstairs. It was late in the morning and he really did need to enter his undead sleep so he could go hunting tonight.**

**Dawn waited for two hours, until just past one before she called Jan to hit the mall and left. She figured that Spike would be good and unconscious by then, which he was.**

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**Willow and Tara led the men into the Summers' home with Tara calling out for Dawn. With no answer, she shrugged and went into the kitchen to find something to serve for lunch. Willow went upstairs and she was pretty sure the red-head was going to be diving into the resurrection materials immediately, despite the fact that they had company.**

**In the meantime, Giles noted the television was still on some sort of sport channel. As he fiddled with the remote, Xander headed up to check on his boyfriend. All the way up the stairs, Hyena was playing mental movies of the last time he'd been in this position and growled/whined when he pointed out they wouldn't be having sex this time.**

**In Dawn's room, he noted that Spike was well and truly out of it and backed out without waking him. Next he gave a short knock on Will's door.**

"**Hey, what's up? You're not joining us downstairs?"**

**Willow was clutching an open book to her breast, the pages crinkling. "No, uh, I have homework. Some really important, uh, homework."**

"**Oh, okay, then. I was kind of hoping we could spend the day…," he let the invitation hang.**

**Unfortunately, all he received was a blank look from his best friend. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she finally gave him a shrug.**

"**Sorry, Xan, like I said… important homework."**

"**Yeah," he gave her his easy smile, "I guess after busting Dawn's chops, I can't really encourage you to skip yours. I'll talk to you later."**

"**Sure," she said with a smile of her own that struck him as insincere for some reason.**

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End Chapter 23


	24. Vanessa Strikes

**Rebuilding**

Ch 24 – Vanessa Strikes

**Spike awoke after six in the evening and listened to the house noises for a moment. Tara, Xander and Giles were downstairs, a radio playing and they were laughing over what sounded like a game of cards. He didn't hear Willow among them. Frowning as he got up and started to put on his jeans, he also didn't hear anything from Dawn.**

**In his mind he was already guestimating when the sunset would be, figuring he had about ninety minutes or so. It was one of those innate abilities of a vampire. Something that he could just feel in his bones. Even if he couldn't judge the disc's position in the sky through a bedroom window. Once he'd gotten his boots on, he went downstairs and saw the three he'd heard playing a game of Crazy 8's.**

"**Hey, Spike," Xan got up and gave him a peck on the cheek.**

"**Where's Dawn," was his immediate response.**

"**I don't know. She wasn't here when we got back."**

"**What?! I told her not to run off… I specifically said so!"**

"**Relax Spike," Tara told him over the table, "It's still sunny for another hour at least. I'm sure she'll be home before nightfall."**

"**Not the point," he insisted. "That girl is gettin' more obstinate by the day."**

"**Remind you of anyone," Giles threw out under his breath, but loud enough to be easily heard.**

"**I can take care of myself," Spike told him snottily. "The runt is liable to get herself hurt or killed. God-damn it, anyway!"**

"**Relax, Babe. She's probably at the old mall. I'll take a spin over there and see if I can find her. You can kick her ass when we get back."**

"**Honestly, you're both going to cause her to rebel more," Giles said. **

"**You're only saying that because you're winning. You just don't want us to interrupt the game," Xander smirked.**

"**Well, that too. But it doesn't negate my statement. Buffy didn't react well to my breathing down the back of her neck and Dawn is very much like her sister."**

"**Go get her Xander, but if you can't find her I want you back by dark. You hearing me," Spike grumbled.**

"**I need to start dinner anyway," Tara said as she gathered up the cards. "Would you like to stay Giles?"**

"**That would be lovely. How can I help?"**

"**Follow me," she smiled, "I'll find something to put you to work doing."**

**As the two of them exited to the kitchen Xander grabbed up his jacket. Spike followed him to the front door and gave him a very quick kiss on the mouth. **

"**I meant what I said. Be back before dark. Vanessa is out there somewhere. In the meantime, I'm looking for Dawn's phone book and calling her friends. I'll call your cell if I find her first."**

"**Spike… relax. She knows the story around the Hellmouth. She'll be inside before twilight," Xander said on his way out of the door.**

**Spike watched after him, glaring at the sunlight which seemed to be nearly a constant in California. His Bit was out there somewhere in a town where evil stalked at all hours and now his lover was out there, too. Both of them beyond his protection and both not taking the dangers seriously even after all their time living here.**

**He began to pace the shadow-protected front porch and smoking furiously.**

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**Dawn hadn't expected to be gone all day. She'd just gotten wrapped up in Jan's excitement at the newly opened "Hot Topic". And then there was the double-feature that the matinee was showing, 'Jaws' and 'Jaws II' which sort of made them run a bit late.**

_**So, Spike will bitch and moan a little. It's not like I'm a little girl anymore and besides, he's not my dad. I don't have any more parents. I can do what I want, **_**Dawn thought to herself as her and Jan headed down the escalator to the basement shops. She wanted to check out 'Teen Miss' for possible dresses for the first dance when they got back to school. **

_**Assuming I don't drop out, which I probably will, anyway, **_**she nodded to herself. The only thing that didn't make it a sure bet was that she really, really wanted to dance with RJ. If she could find a really knock out dress, then maybe she'd stay in school just long enough to go to the first dance in October. **_**At least, if I can get through summer school,**_** she pouted.**

**Besides, she'd been so relieved that Jan even wanted to go to the movies. It seemed that her 'aunts' spell to wipe her memory really did its job. She hadn't even hesitated to line up for the movies, even after their last disastrous trip to the mall. **

**Ahead of her, Jan was animatedly going on about Spike and how hot he was and how it wasn't fair that he was gay and how she loves the way he smells and how her sister should totally be dating him and on and on. Sometimes, Dawn wondered if Jan wasn't at least part demon with the power to talk without taking a breath once in a while. And it wasn't like she was blind to Spike's extreme attractiveness, but she didn't want to think about it. It was too close to lusting after a family member. Her little crush on Xander was easier for her to deal with since she didn't get lusty feelings whenever he walked in the room, which was sometimes the case still with Spike. She kind of wished that Jan would quit reminding her about how studly Spike could be.**

**She sent Jan ahead of her to the dress shop while she detoured to the ladies' room. She didn't think anything of it when someone else came in while she was in the stall.**

**When she'd completed her business, she began to scrub her hands at the sink. Almost immediately another woman left the stall that she had been occupying. She was dressed all in black with dark, dramatic make-up. She was probably in her early twenties and was definitely a Goth. **

**Dawn gave her a glance and a polite nod in the bathroom mirror and though she didn't admit it to herself, she was relieved to see a reflection from the other woman. Something felt odd to her but she couldn't figure out what and she tried to tell herself to stop letting her imagination run away with her.**

_**Sometimes two women in the bathroom is just two women in the bathroom, **_**she scolded herself.**

**As she was turning to head to the towel dispenser, the woman spoke to her.**

"**Aren't you Dawn Summers," she asked.**

**Dawn turned around to look at the girl again, and again, something about this whole encounter was putting her on edge. And again, she ignored her inner voice as being paranoid.**

"**Uh, y-yeah… do I know you," she asked doubtfully. "Are you in the high school?"**

"**Oh, no," the girl laughed, which sounded phony to Dawn. "I know your sister, Buffy. Well, not actually know-know her, but uh, you know… she 'helped' me out once," she said meaningfully.**

"**Oh" Dawn brightened, "I see. Yeah, my sis has a habit of, uh, helping others. Uh, how?"**

"**Oh, it was just this thing I got involved in. Me and this group was into vampire worship… we sort of had this insane 'Anne Rice' fetish," the girl shrugged with an embarrassed grin as she stepped closer.**

"**Well, I'm glad she was able to 'help' you," Dawn said. "I'm afraid it's not like in the romance novels."**

"**Yeah… but you know, a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do," the Goth girl said. **

**She'd said it so intensely that Dawn was immediately on edge again. Dawn nervously smiled, "Well, uh, I have a friend waiting on me just outside, so…."**

"**Oh, you mean the bubble-head that's already gone into the dress shop," she said menacingly.**

"**Uh…," Dawn decided to end this conversation, but when she began to back away, the girl rushed forward and grabbed her.**

"**H-Hey! Stop it," Dawn squealed as she struggled, but the girl slapped her hard to the face sending her against the sinks.**

**Before she could do anything else, even scream, she felt the deep pinch of a needle into her arm. Almost immediately the room began to sway and the lighting in the bathroom seemed to go dim.**

**Just as she began to lose consciousness, the girl told her, "Sorry, kid. But I've found somebody else to make me one of the immortal ones and her price was you."**

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**Melinda had been watching the Summers' house since noon and was relieved to see her leave, alone at sometime around one. She'd watched as the stupid girl knocked on the door across the street and been worried that they'd be spending the day in. She'd been wanting to be a vampire since she and the rest of the outcasts had discovered from the Ford guy that they could really be immortal. Buffy had completely ruined that whole thing… okay, so the vampires were less Lestat and more 'scary-bumpy-heads', but that was only part-time. And, yes, you had to be careful about offering your neck… not every one of them knew how to honor a deal, but she felt good about this Vanessa-being she'd met the other night. Of course, she was supposed to be just another meal, but when Melinda explained that she wanted to join her in the darkness and offered to do whatever she'd wanted, Vanessa quickly struck a deal. It was just a good thing that she'd met Buffy and was able to offer her as payment. Vanessa had stuck down that deal, but she'd countered with offering immortality in exchange for the younger Summers sister and that was a price well worth it.**

**She'd managed to keep the giggly girls in sight all the way through the mall, but finding a right place and time to snatch the kid was the trick. Thankfully, the little bitchette needed to piss and chose down here to do it. The lowest level of the mall was always mostly empty this late in the afternoon.**

_**I guess even the losers know enough to start heading out near the end of the daylight, **_**she grudgingly gave them. **_**Now, to get the brat out of here.**_

**She struggled a bit to get Dawn up over her shoulders in a 'fireman's carry' and as quickly as she could she left the bathroom. Her heart was beating furiously with fear that a minimally paid and minimally intelligent security doofus was going to just happen to stroll through, or somebody would leave one of the shops at just the wrong moment, but somebody up there was helping her out in her goal. She took the half dozen steps to the maintenance door and slid through. It was a pathetic lock and had taken her all of fifteen seconds to pick.**

_**Thanks for that little skill, Juvie-hall,**_** she smirked. Once safely inside the dimly lit maintenance tunnel, she laid Dawn down for a moment. The girl was a lot heavier than she looked when she was dead weight. **_**Well, not dead yet, **_**she smirked again, this time at the unconscious figure.**

**Vanessa had provided her with the drug, warning Melinda not to give the brat too much. If she didn't get to the bed and breakfast alive, there'd be no reward for her. With a put-upon sigh, she gathered Dawn up in her arms again for the long trek across the tunnel systems of town. She double checked that she still had her knife and a stake in case she met anything underneath town. The people in this burg had no idea of some of the… people… she'd seen. Real freaks with as many deformities as you'd care to come up with. It was all very Morlocks and some of them seemed to be able to do weird stuff like those mutant tunnel-dwellers in the old X-Men comics, too. It just didn't pay to be a regular human anymore.**

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"**I cannot believe you risked that," Jonathon complained to Warren. "What if it didn't work? What if he turned into a Franken-Ice Cube?!"**

"**But it did work," Andrew scowled at him. "Warren knew it would work… he is brilliant you know!"**

"**Thanks, Andy-Pandy," Warren squeezed Andrew's arm, unwittingly putting him someplace just shy of heaven. "We needed to find out if it was going to work some time," he directed at Jon. **

"**You told us we were taking the night off to see if Buffy showed," he reminded him. Jon never did fully trust Warren, even if they were friends.**

"**And we were. But just how did you think we were going to find out if Buffy was around town? Check the morning news for her? See if the paper happened to mention her? Ask door to door?"**

"**Yeah," Andrew piped in, "Just what about that, Jonathon?"**

"**We could have done the whole reconnaissance thing," Jon pointed out. "And we'd have been a lot less conspicuous about it, too!"**

"**Look, it worked out," Warren insisted, trying to bring this argument to an end. "And you guys did a fantastic job with the Ice Sprite," he flattered.**

"**Ice Spirit… an Icelandic Ice Spirit," Jon grumbled.**

"**Whatever," Andrew said, taking Warren's side as usual. "The point is, we are awesome! We're like the Kingpins of Crime!"**

"**Except not as bald and fat," Warren pointed out.**

"**He's not fat… he's just grotesquely muscled," Jon said.**

"**So… are we going to hit the precious metals place tonight," Andrew excited asked.**

"**I don't see anything standing in our way," Warren grinned as confirmation of the plan.**

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**It was well after dark when Melinda dropped Dawn's figure at the foot of Vanessa.**

"**Here she is, just as promised," she said triumphantly if a little nervously. "So…."**

**Vanessa gave her a large grin, her face morphing into the weird, bumpy face. "You've done very, very well for me. And you will be rewarded. Sit down."**

**Melinda chose a place on the bench, swallowing reflexively with a mixture of excitement and fear. "W-will it hurt?"**

"**I'm going to bite you… what do you think? But it's only for a moment and then you'll be dead."**

"**B-but I'm coming back… I mean… the death thing isn't permanent?"**

"**You're coming back, dear… just like my other companions."**

"**Okay," Melinda nodded with certainty, "I'm ready. I am finally getting what I wanted."**

"**And so am I," Vanessa laughed gaily.**

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End Chapter 24


	25. Another Night, Another Battle

**Rebuilding**

Ch 25 – Another Night, Another Battle

"**I'm sure," Xander said worriedly into his cell phone as he glanced at the tear-streaked face of Janice Moore. "We've paged her over the P.A. and I've been in every shop… even the girly-underwear place."**

"**Damn it," Willow said furiously. The last thing they all needed was another 'rescue Dawn from herself' mission. This was interfering with her getting Buffy back from Hell. "Your damned boyfriend already took off as soon as the sun dipped. Of course, you haven't gotten him a cell phone," she complained.**

"**Will? Focus… we need to find Dawn. You and Tara are best, uh, suited to, uh, to doing what you guys do with that, uh, finding thing."**

"**Smooth, Xan. Tara is already setting up in Dawn's room for the locator spell. I'll call you back as soon as we have her position." **

**The Hellmouth continued making it a nightmare to find her with spells, but Willow and Tara had worked hard in the past month looking for a way around that. They'd found they could just barely get a reading if they surrounded themselves, literally, with things that shared her aura… like her bedroom full of stuff. But it still took a lot of effort and was a general pain in the ass.**

"**Rick has an A.P.B. out for her and Jan is going to help him with visiting the usual teen hang outs these days," he told her. He walked away from Jan several feet, glancing around to see to it he wasn't overheard.**

"**I'm going to enter the maintenance tunnel here… see if I can find anything," he told her.**

"**Xander, please be careful… we don't need to lose two of us in the same night. Don't go wandering into the town's tunnel system. Some of the natural formations and the Hellmouth's energy create mystical 'blind spots'. Listen, I gotta go, Tara is ready. I've sent the Buffybot toward you; she turned out fine after thawing. Giles decided to go with her. They can start a logical search pattern with the mall as its center."**

"**Okay… wish we had the Faithbot. We could have used an extra pair of sensors. We'll round-robin when any of us has news, yes?"**

"**You know it. 'Bye."**

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**Dawn groaned, her head slamming with the worst headache she'd ever had. She tried to rub her head, but found that her hands wouldn't move. Her attempt was met with the sounds of rattling chain.**

**Opening her eyes she glanced around but didn't recognize her surroundings. It looked kind of like she was in a castle. Assuming she was still in Sunnydale, that meant the old B&B that Dracula had once used as a base.**

**She looked around, scared, but not panicked. If whoever the girl was that stuck her with a needle wanted her dead, she would have been already.**

"**Speaking of which," Dawn whispered on seeing the same girl now. She was lying very still on a dusty table. And given her pallor and the two holes in her neck, apparently she'd been bitten, too. **_**Which means, I'm in a lot of trouble… again. Spike is going to be livid.**_

"**Your little friend will be joining us soon," a woman's voice said from behind and above her. She tried to turn her head around enough to see who spoke, but she was bound to the wall that was part of a set of stone stairs and she could only see the woman's old, clunky shoes and part of a dark gray skirt with black stockings covering the calves above her head.**

"**I-I don't even know her," Dawn said. She immediately had intuited that the girl on the table must have been vamped, not just bitten.**

"**I don't mean her, dear. Although she'll be joining us again soon, too. Or some version of her, anyway. No, I'm speaking of William… your protector. Bet you didn't know you were hanging around a Hellbeast this whole time," the voice continued as the legs continued to climb down the stairway.**

**Dawn remained silent. When the woman… or demon, actually, made it to the same level as her, she looked her over. She was smallish and thin… even delicate looking. She wore a dark gray suit-type outfit. Her shoes were two inch heels and looked outdated. What really drew the eye, however, was the luxuriant red hair that tumbled around her shoulders. Her eyes were currently yellow and her face was distorted making it impossible to see what she'd looked like alive.**

"**I've been curious about you, Dawn. And since we have some time, I'd love to know just what your relationship is with my Sire. He brought me over to the night and then left me like yesterday's garbage. Can you imagine how that feels," she said as she crowded the frightened girl.**

**She continued, "And now, after eighty-some years I find him co-habitating with ****you****. A silly, mortal, little girl. Did he turn on the charm… tell you that you were special? Was he gentle the first time, making you think he was some sort of prince? He's evil, you know. A real monster among monsters."**

"**Uh, I really think you got the wrong idea. I mean… really, really. And I'm s-sorry if he did some bad stuff to you, but like, that has nothing to do with me. So, uh, maybe you could just let me go?"**

**Vanessa glared at her, "You're not going anywhere. You're my special vengeance on William, dear. You and those other whores he's watching over. I don't know what the hell he's doing with you all, but if he won't vamp you, I will. And I'll make him watch, when I do." **

"**N-no!"**

**The vampire just laughed as she left Dawn to check on the dead girl on the table. She then went to the weak fire and added a few pointless twigs to the flame.**

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"**I'll call you if I find anything," Lieutenant Stein told Xander. He lowered his voice and stepped closer to him. "I need to warn you though; we found a hypodermic in the trash in the girl's restroom. It may be unrelated, but with her disappearance…," he shrugged.**

"**Adding to the chances she was abducted," Xan nodded to himself.**

"**Like I said, it could be unrelated. We'll know more when the lab sees what the contents were and looks for any other trace evidence."**

**With this Rick put a reassuring hand on the elbow of Janice and led her out. Jan was insisting that Dawn wouldn't just leave her there as she followed the detective.**

**Xander took a moment to see to it that he was inconspicuous and then wandered away from the policemen that were still interviewing mall employees. He knew that another detective was currently looking at surveillance tapes, but the cameras down here weren't working. It wasn't much of a surprise, considering they were on a Hellmouth and near to tunnels the demons used as a highway right up into the town; especially those that could pass for human.**

**With a sigh, Xan sidled up near the taped off bathroom; the last known place that Dawn had been.**

_**I've got her scent, **_**Hyena suddenly thought at him.**

_**Really?! Which direction? Can you tell where she was headed?**_

_**Probably. But why should I share?**_

_**What do you mean? She's in trouble, that's why!**_

_**She's always in trouble. She's a weakness the pack could afford to lose. And besides, how does helping you help me? **_

_**You little bitch! If you know something then share, **_**Xander raged.**

_**Uh-uh. Doesn't work that way. You want my help… I want assurances that you're not going to be drinking whatever that potion is that Tara is whipping up. Here's the deal… you save me and I help you save Dawnie.**_

**Xander grimaced with anger at his animal-spirit/personality. He'd been looking forward to getting her out of his head, but did he really want it bad enough to risk Dawn being hurt or killed in the meantime while everyone was blindly wandering around.**

_**You better decide quickly, **_**Hyena sneered. **_**Who knows what poor, helpless Dawn is going through even as you dither.**_

_**Fine! Fine, I agree. Now where is she?!**_

**Hyena directed him toward the maintenance tunnel that he'd been going to check out anyway. When he tried the knob he found it broken. The door opened without him even turning the handle. With a last glance that he wasn't about to be busted, he slipped into the darkness beyond. Leading into the creepy gloom were a string of dim bulbs spaced out ten feet apart from its neighbor.**

_**I should have brought a flashlight, **_**he thought to himself.**

_**I can manage, **_**Hyena whispered to him. **_**And I have another scent. Dawn came this way, but she wasn't alone… another human; a young woman.**_

"**Lead on," Xander whispered in the cavern as Hyena urged him forward into the gloom.**

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**Buffybot sat in the passenger seat of her Watcher's car as he sped toward the town's mall district. Her optical sensors were scanning people's faces as she passed them by, trying to locate her sister. She seemed to get in a lot of trouble… first school and now this running off at night.**

"**I don't think I'm being an adequate role-model and fill-in parent," she stated.**

**Giles didn't know what to say to that so didn't respond.**

"**It is unfortunate that our mother is absent. When will she be returning from her grave to resume her responsibilities?"**

**He took a startled glance at the robot next to him, but she was still staring out of the window. "Uh… I'm afraid that's not the way it works. I'm afraid that Joyce will not be returning."**

"**Oh. That seems irresponsible of Joyce then. Do you think my twin can do better with mothering Dawn when she returns," she asked.**

"…**." Giles sat with his mouth open for several seconds before clearing his throat. "I-I'm sure that you're doing an adequate job. D-Dawn certainly, uh, appreciates your presence, I'm sure."**

"**I'm not so sure. She seems to be getting into a lot of trouble. I believe that she needs to be disciplined in some way. However, my programming isn't designed for this function."**

"**Uh, well… uh, w-when we retrieve her then I will decide on a proper response. I'm sure that Willow and Tara can decide on a proper punishment for not listening to Spike, as well."**

"**I hope she has not gone away, too. My sister's well being is important to me. Of course, perhaps she will join Joyce and the other Buffy and will be less delinquent in her responsibilities…," she grinned. **

"**Let's hope that's not the case," Giles muttered to himself.**

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"**This place is creepy," Andrew complained. "And why do we need 'her', anyway?"**

"**We can always use more muscle," Warren said. "I just can't believe Buffy's gang left her here like this."**

"**They probably couldn't free her," Jon suggested.**

**In front of the Trio, the robotized Adam was bracing himself silently for lifting the heavy beam that had pinned the Faithbot. Her hair was covered in sticky, green goop that Warren immediately recognized as her coolant fluid.**

"**Poor, April," he said.**

"**Faith," Jon reminded him.**

"**Uh, guys… should we really be standing in here when Adam lifts this debris? I mean… what if there's a cave-in," Andrew said suddenly as Adam began to heave and the wreckage began groaning around them.**

"**Uh… Adam, freeze!" Warren and Jon looked at each other wide-eyed. "Actually, Andy… that's a good point," he said. "Uh… Adam, count to thirty seconds and then complete the lifting of the wreckage… guys… let's wait outside!"**

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**Spike rushed toward the mall where he knew Xander was waiting. He also knew that it was the last place they could be sure that his Bit had been. He was hoping against hope that he'd find some spore of her to trace when he arrived.**

**And that's why he'd nearly fallen victim to the attack when it came. Just before a crossbow bolt pinned him, he instinctively threw himself to the side. The bolt came so close, he actually felt its disturbance in the air as it whizzed by harmlessly.**

**Spinning around in game-face, he found himself confronted by two of the vampire women he'd been tricked by before. One of the women stood with an amazed look on her face, her empty crossbow hanging slack. The other also had a crossbow, which she had aimed at him.**

"**You'll never hit me with that," he said as he took a menacing step in their direction.**

"**We'll see," Gladys simply said. **

**Rachel rushed Spike, causing him to lift his arms in a defensive move. He kicked out with a roundhouse that caught the woman in the stomach. She wasn't deterred long, however, and slashed at him with her fingernails. It was an attack which Dru had used on him more than once when they were fighting, however, and he dodged the assault.**

**Taking a glance, he was just in time to note the streak of movement of the other bolt whizzing at him. He threw himself at the ground and into a role, allowing the missile to also fly off harmlessly into the night.**

**Unfortunately this allowed Rachel to leap onto him with a screech and he had to grab at her wrists, interfering with his reaching for the stake in his jacket. The woman was only freshly turned, but she'd been in decent shape during life and he found her limber in addition to her natural predatory strength. Of course, he was no slouch himself and in a matter of moments he had her struggling under him.**

**Before he could take advantage of the fact, however, he was rolling off of her to avoid another crossbow bolt launched in his direction by the other woman. He leaped to his feet, but found Rachel had grabbed hold of his ankles and he tumbled to the ground, kicking out at her and connecting solidly with her face. Again, he struggled to get the stake from his pocket, but again, she reacted with vampire speed and straddled him and he was forced to continue the hand to hand battle while catching frenetic glimpses of Gladys re-loading her weapon.**

**Spike took a hold of Rachel's wrists again, but this time he also was able to get his feet under her. With a press, he was able to flip her over his head and onto the lawn they were fighting on. **

**He leaped to his feet again lashing out with a fist as Rachel struggled to her feet and knocking her ass first back onto the ground. Even as she roared at him, he was running in a dash for Gladys. She found herself under assault too quickly to complete her reloading and had to drop the gun while she blocked his thrown punches.**

**He'd just punched out the woman in front of him when he felt the distinct and quite painful sensation of a missile through his midsection. When he looked down, he saw the blunt tip of a bolt sticking out of him just above his intestines. On it, mixed with the blood he'd drunk earlier in the day was an oozing, yellow and noxious substance.**

**It was barely seconds after the missile slid through him that the injury site turned completely numb. He reached for the bolt, knowing he had to remove it to fight effectively, but his arms felt heavy and hard to move and his fingers felt nerveless and clumsy.**

**When he looked up, the woman vampire he'd punched out was grinning widely. She balled a fist and then he was crashing to the ground, a far away and blunted pain spreading from his nose. He watched her as if from a far distance away as she reached down and pulled the bolt completely out of him, but he felt no sense of pain. He realized then that he'd been drugged with something, but when he tried to speak to ask what they'd done to him, he found his lips wouldn't move.**

**Above him, the other vampire he'd been wrestling with joined the first. And then there was a third who he hadn't seen but who must have been skulking nearby.**

"**Good shot, Tammy," Rachel complimented.**

"**It was nothing," she grinned. "You and Gladys did the hard work keeping him distracted."**

"**Our Sire will be so pleased," Rachel grinned.**

"**I just hope she lets me torture him before she dusts him. He owes me some pain," Gladys said darkly as she gave a vicious kick to his completely numbed ribs.**

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End Chapter 25


	26. Looking for Dawn

**Rebuilding**

Ch 26 – Looking for Dawn

**Giles pulled into the parking lot of the Sunny Days Mall and Shopping Center and Buffybot was out of the car nearly before he'd stopped. As he struggled to get his belt off, he called out to her, but she either didn't hear him through the closed windows or simply chose to ignore him.**

**When he did catch up to her, she was accosting one of the underpaid security guards just inside the main doors.**

"**Don't tell me I cannot enter! My sister is missing and I am going to locate her, you illogical, little man."**

"**Buffy! Let's not antagonize everyone, shall we? Hello," he turned to the man whose name tag read 'WILLIAMS'. "Uh, Mr. Williams… we're family of the missing youngster. Surely there's someone we can speak to…."**

**Todd Williams looked down his nose at the foreign sounding guy with his mouth in a slim line. He'd been given very clear instructions… no one was to leave without talking to a detective and no one was to enter… period. He'd already had to throw out a parasitic reporter when she'd tried to barrel through him and he sure wasn't afraid to throw out the Brit and the twig-girl either.**

"**No one enters," he said in a flat voice which he perceived as professional sounding. "Police are securing the area and they don't want evidence tampered with."**

**That last part sounded just like something he'd see on CSI and he felt proud for ad-libbing it off the top of his head. He loved that show.**

"**W-well, perhaps you could explain to an officer that we're here?"**

"**This is stupid! With my audio-visual sensors I have a far better chance of tracking my sister down than these humans," Buffybot exclaimed, ignoring the look on the guard's face.**

**Giles grabbed the robot's arm and dragged her out of the mall, apologizing to the guard for the trouble. He told him that he understood his job. He continued to pull the robot along around the side of the mall building, her protesting but not resisting.**

"**Why are you interrupting my attempts to track Dawn," she asked once he'd stopped.**

"**Must I remind you that you are supposed to be human? You cannot go around talking about your 'audio-visual' anything and never refer to yourself as having sensors!"**

"**I'm sorry, Giles. I am just concerned with Dawn's disappearance. But I know that my Watcher will have a plan of action to implement," she grinned.**

"**Y-yes, well… I believe you should find an alternate way in. There must be a loading dock entrance. But you must remain undiscovered. And I wish you to find evidence of Dawn's circumstance surrounding her disappearance and then report directly back to me. You are not to antagonize the police in there! If you see Rick Stein, perhaps he can help you but all other officers are to be avoided if possible. Do you understand?"**

"**My instructions are very clear," she nodded her head with that inappropriate grin. "My Watcher's plan of action is always best! I will proceed as you've outlined, Giles."**

**With this the robot immediately sprinted away for the rear of the mall while Giles could only sigh. He had a bad feeling about both Dawn's absence and the Buffy robot's ability not to attract attention, whatever she may have agreed to.**

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**In Dawn's bedroom, surrounding a map of Sunnydale kneeled Tara and Willow. Their hands were clasped together and they were sprinkling red grains of sand across the map. While Willow was impatiently staring at it, Tara was focusing on her breathing and attempting to get in sync with her partner.**

"**Willow… you're not focusing," she said, opening her eyes.**

"**I'm trying! But… damn it, I have other things to do right now," she sounded angry.**

"**Will… Dawn is in danger. We need to focus on her right now. I know you're upset about Buffy, but we can't let that distract us from Dawn right now."**

"**You think I don't know that!?"**

**Tara flinched at the tone of her girlfriend's voice, but went on determinedly. "Okay, let's just try this again. Focus on Dawn," she said while re-closing her eyes.**

"**Oh, for Goddess' sake! I know how to cast a locator spell," Willow complained.**

**Tara was about to say something she'd regret when she suddenly felt Willow's aura come into contact with hers. A moment later and she could tell that the spell was beginning to take affect. Opening her eyes again, she found the grains of sand glowing like little white balls of light as they raced together to merge into a tiny pile on their map.**

"**Hmmm… looks like the northwest of town. How did she get so far from the mall?"**

"**That's the area where Dracula was hanging out," Willow said thoughtfully. "I think she may be at Burnside's, that castle-looking place."**

"**I remember it. You call Xan and I'll get a hold of Giles," Tara said as she regained her feet and headed for the door.**

"**We really need to get that place tore down," Willow muttered as she dialed up Xan's cell.**

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**Dawn gasped as she saw two more vampire women dragging Spike into the room. One of the women was vaguely familiar to her and she thought maybe she was one of the missing moms that the gang was investigating. The women manhandled Spike to another wall and began to put heavy manacles on his wrists, like the ones that bound her. His eyes were open, but he seemed in some sort of trance.**

"**Spike! Spike? Are you okay," she called across the room.**

"**He can't answer," one of the women said. "He's been paralyzed and his brain is probably feeling a bit fuzzy. But don't worry; he'll come around before the fun times begin."**

"**It looks like sleeping beauty is still out of it," the other woman said. "How long did it take for us to wake up, you think?"**

"**I'm sure she'll be up and around by tomorrow night."**

**A third vampire woman entered then and Dawn was positive she remembered her from the news. She had been Tammy Montgomery and she'd disappeared with her husband and son. Dawn was pretty sure she'd met the kid already… he was dust now, not that the mother seemed overly concerned about it. The father may or may not have been one of the bodies that had been found in the woods.**

"**I don't see our Sire around," Tammy said. "She must be out hunting."**

"**Well, we've secured what she wanted. And since he's paralyzed and the brat isn't strong enough to escape, I think we can go out for a bite to eat, too," Rachel said.**

**Gladys smiled at Dawn as the women began filing out of the room. "It's too bad we can't eat you… I bet that young, hot blood is really pumping about now." She laughed as she followed the others out.**

"**Actually, it isn't," Dawn said, when she was sure they were gone. "The gang will get here anytime now and we've faced down a god. I'm thinking you're all already dust and just don't know it, yet."**

**She called out to Spike again, telling him not to worry, the rescue party was probably already closing in. He didn't respond.**

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**In the deep darkness under Sunnydale, Xander traveled hesitantly in the darkness, following a trail that only Hyena-Xan seemed to detect. He was largely dependent on the mosses that grew from the earthen walls and shed minute amounts of phosphorescent glow. The world under these conditions was leached of color and everything had an odd slightly greenish cast to it. In some places, he had to rely on an old lighter he'd picked up off the ground. This was only a quarter filled with fluid, but it was better than stumbling through total darkness, though he was trying hard not to waste it.**

"**I didn't realize I'd be able to see this good in such low light," Xander said.**

_**You wouldn't if it wasn't for me. If you'd stop being so focused on your eyes, you'd probably detect the slight odor of Dawn and her traveling companion, too. At least slightly, anyway. And you don't need to talk out loud… just think at me.**_

"**You're creepy."**

_**And you're too soft. We wouldn't be in the situation if you'd taken care of Dawn in the first place. And we'd have a warrior in the pack instead of a nuisance.**_

"**No one misses Buffy more than I do. But sacrificing Dawn was never going to happen."**

_**Poor planning. You can't keep the pack strong and hard if you don't learn to drive off the weak.**__**Giles would have done it.**_

"**I don't want to believe that. And besides, you weren't exactly grieving while the rest of us were falling apart. I thought you'd be happy to have the Slayer out of your way. Doesn't this bring you one step closer to ruling the group?"**

_**Buffy was very brave. Turn left here… the scent is starting to get stronger. I wanted her out of my rightful position and would have killed her in a challenge if I'd needed to. But I was more hopeful that we could have outmaneuvered her instead. It would have been ideal if she'd have submitted to us as the leadership and fallen into line, instead.**_

"**And, Giles? Just how far would you go?"**

_**Giles is old and ripe for being overthrown. It isn't always necessary to kill in order to usurp and hold. The important thing is the pack's over-all health and preparedness. Killing is a tool, but it isn't the only one.**_

_**I don't want to talk about this anymore, **_**Xander thought hard at her.**

_**Too damned soft, **_**she thought-muttered back.**

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"**Xander's cell is 'out of service', goddamnit," Willow said as she met Tara at the front door.**

"**Maybe he found something at the site."**

"**Not the point! I specifically told him not to wander into those caverns," she sighed harshly. "If no one is going to listen to me, we're never going to get anywhere."**

_**I don't remember you being put in charge of all of us, **_**Tara thought, but didn't say. She knew that Willow was under an enormous amount of stress and didn't want to add to it by mentioning she was acting a little Hilter-ish right now.**

**Instead she said, "We can argue later. Let's get going."**

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"**Come on… come on…," Giles chanted in the back lot of the mall. He was waiting to collect the Buffybot so that they could make their way to the, sort of appropriate, abandoned bed and breakfast. After all, one vampire had already found it homey.**

**He sat on the curb of the parking lot and tried to will the robot to return. He closed his eyes for a moment, the stress and fear over what was happening to Dawn momentarily eclipsing him. He couldn't lose her; not after Buffy's sacrifice for her. He couldn't fail his Slayer this way.**

**When he opened his eyes, it wasn't Rupert Giles who gazed at the mall's empty shipping dock, however. Ripper stood up and gave a last half-hearted look for the Buffy robot.**

"**Eh, screw it," he said into the night air. In Turkish he added, "I need a drink."**

**Ripper wandered away from the time wasting robot-in-the-mall and headed for the nearest pub.**

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End Chapter 26


	27. Goodbye, Dawn

**Rebuilding**

Chapter 27 – Goodbye, Dawn

"**Man, this is a mess…," Warren sighed over the disconnected head of April.**

"**Actually, it could have been worse," Jon sympathized. "I mean, at least her composite cranium was only cracked… her brain centers could have been smashed to pieces."**

"**I still don't understand why we need a skanky robot," Andrew said.**

"**You know, I'm starting to think you're jealous of my robot," Warren teased. He'd been suspecting for some time that Andrew wasn't 'into girls'.**

"**Th-that's ridiculous! I'm not jealous… I just… I mean we already have a robot warrior."**

"**Adam's a cyborg," Jon pointed out. "And he's looking really bad."**

"**I'm trying! It's not my fault that the Tannis leaves are failing," Andrew whined. "According to the tome, they've kept shambling mummies stable for hundreds… even thousands of years!"**

"**Maybe it's the demon parts interfering in the process… or the metal," Warren said thoughtfully. "Either way… we may need to move the freeze ray over to Aprilbot here, if we can get her functional."**

"**You'll do it," Andrew smiled, "You're like… brilliant."**

"**Thanks, Andy," he said with a small smirk. To Jonathon he said, "How's the bionics coming?"**

"**Uh… not really bionical. I mean… I think our exo-attachments are nearly ready for a first test, but I wouldn't want to try inserting them in our body or anything."**

"**Close enough to bionics… at least for now," Warren said in that far-away, day dream voice. He came back to himself a moment later, "Okay… so we all have a project… let's get to work."**

"**I'd like to," Jon said, "But Aunt Martha's over and I have to get home. My mom's already going to be pissed that I missed dinner as it is."**

"**B-but I can stay," Andrew added. "I mean… uh, all night if, you know, we need to."**

"**Well, at least one of us is committed," Warren muttered as he stared at Jonathon's exiting back.**

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**Willow sat in back of the Burnside B&B in Tara's car. In the driver's seat, Tara was trying Giles' phone. They had expected to find him already here and she wanted to see how close he was.**

**In a bar near the old mall district, Ripper glanced at his cell phone. With an annoyed roll of his eyes, he turned the device off and returned his attentions to the red head in front of him.**

"**My apologies," he told Susan Cranns. He spoke in an uneasy accent lost somewhere betwixt British and Turkish-accented English. Susan didn't seem to mind the odd way of the man speaking; her attention was solely on the mysterious, dark eyes and the oddly sensual and exciting hint of danger chilling her spine. **

"**No apology necessary. You didn't answer it," she said confidently.**

"**I believe I've grown bored of this place. I suggest we change our venue."**

"**To my apartment," she smiled seductively.**

"**My thoughts exactly," he smiled back. His grin however held a hint of darkness.**

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"**This is ridiculous," Willow complained harshly. "First Xander and now Giles. I'm telling you… it's no wonder I've completely given up on guys!"**

"**Well, I was hoping that I might have had a part in that, too," Tara smiled.**

"**Well… you were pretty irresistible," Willow gave her. "So what do we do?"**

"**I'm worried about storming the place without backup…."**

"**But we are witches," Willow pointed out. "I mean… I love Xan, but do we really need him? And Giles? Well, we both know he hasn't been the same since ****that**** night. Maybe it's better that we handle this one alone."**

**Tara sighed indecisively. Finally she met Will's eyes and grew more determined, "I guess we can't wait. We don't know how long it will take for them to get here. We don't even know where Spike is at right now and anything could be happening to Dawnie." **

**She reached over onto Willow's side and opened the dashboard box. Inside laid two crucifixes. **

**Willow grabbed one and handed the other to Tara, "Listen… be careful, okay, Tara. I mean, we don't know how many more vampires this Vanessa woman created."**

"**I know. I'm actually surprised that we haven't already been attacked."**

"**Maybe luck is with us. Maybe they're out."**

"**Okay," Tara said, letting out a deep, cleansing breath. "Let's do this."**

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**Gladys, Tammy and Rachel approached the front of the B&B. All of them felt full and energized in that way that only fresh, human blood could provide.**

"**Do you think you'll ever Sire anybody," Tammy asked.**

"**Oh, eventually," Gladys immediately answered. "I mean… when I meet the right somebody."**

"**We all had the 'right somebodies', already," Rachel said.**

"**I didn't," Glady said. "Tim was a complete milquetoast. No way that spineless nerd would have made a good vampire. I can't see what in the hell I was thinking marrying him."**

"**Well, I would have turned my husband if he hadn't been killed instead," Tammy said. "But, you know… no crying over spilled blood."**

"**I don't think I'm ready for that sort of responsibility. Maybe when I'm a hundred or so… but for now, I plan on enjoying just getting stronger," Rachel said.**

"**There is that," Tammy agreed.**

"**Wait," Gladys said suddenly. With a slight tilt of her head, she breathed in, "I smell something."**

"**Yeah… women… that red head is definitely one of them, too. I can recognize a magic taint from her," Rachel said.**

"**They must be here to rescue the brat and Spike," Gladys complained. "That is really gonna piss our Sire off."**

"**Not if we stop them. Let's go ladies! Carefully, quietly… we strike before they know what hit them." Rachel smiled, mouth full of fangs, at her compatriots.**

"**I'm glad we decided not to go out without our little friends," Tammy smiled back, patting her crossbow and the drugged bolt that had helped them so much against their Grand-sire.**

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"**Let's go in through the cellar," Tara whispered.**

"**Are you sure? I mean… in the movies, that's where the vamps are always waiting."**

"**Well, there is that. But I think we'll be a lot more noticeable breaking in the back door."**

"**Good point," Willow whispered back as they headed for a root cellar. **

**The side by side doors were badly weathered and cracked. A chain hung through the handles, but the lock itself was rusted and a quick yank snapped it off, even without super-strength.**

"**Don't wipe that rust on your jeans… I'll never get that out," Tara warned.**

**The two witches made their way down the stairs. Once down, Willow gave a single word chant in Latin and a small glow emanated from her free hand.**

"**I don't see any coffins," Tara whispered.**

"**I think Buffy said that Dracula used the upstairs. That's probably where they're at. Uh, why don't you give Xan and Giles one more try before we storm the place?"**

"**Okay, hold on a sec." **

**Tara reached into her jacket and pulled out her pink cell phone. A minute later and she shook her head, "No answer from either one."**

"**Okay… here we g—ack!"**

**Tara cried out Willow's name as she saw her girl friend fall to the ground, an arrow or something jutting from her thigh. With a start she turned toward the cellar entrance just in time to shout an incantation that deflected two more pointed sticks flying through the air toward her. In front of her were three vampire women… all of them held crossbows, none of which were now loaded.**

"**Oh, crap," she hissed. "Desolvo!"**

**A green ribbon of energy projected outward from her palm, encasing the vampires. With growls and hisses they were suddenly sent flying out of the cellar doors. Tara was running after them, close on their flying heels. However, she didn't follow them out into the night… instead she yanked shut the cellar doors.**

"**Blockade," she whispered in Latin before adding, "Goddess Artemis, hold this barrier."**

**Once this was done she added the same incantation Willow had just used, as the light had immediately failed once she'd fallen to the floor. Now bending onto her knees, she turned Willow onto her back and checked for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief. **

"**Will? Willow, can you hear me," she gave the other witch a shake. She tried to ignore the angry noises of battering going on at the cellar door. The wood was already cracking and the barrier spell wouldn't hold them for long. When she looked, Will's eyes were wide and open… she could see conscience behind them, but she appeared completely paralyzed.**

"**Goddess…, okay, okay… let me think a minute. I can undo this," she told Willow. There was no response from the red-head.**

**Only feet away, the cellar doors were being torn apart as the barrier spell struggled to hold the disparate pieces into a unified whole.**

"**Unnamed Goddess, here the plea of your daughter…," Tara started, before she interrupted herself with a startled yell. The cellar doors came flying into the space in tatters.**

"**Crap! Desolvo," she yelled again, pointing.**

**This time the vampires were more than ready for a witch's spells, however. As one they dove out of the way with Gladys diving under the blast of power. Moments later she'd sent an uppercut into Tara's jaw, knocking the woman unconscious with one blow.**

"**This must be our night," Tammy said.**

"**Two more gifts for Vanessa," Rachel laughed.**

"**Let's get them upstairs quickly," Gladys told the other two. "We need to administer the paralyzing solution to this other witch before she comes around."**

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"**Giles? I've located a clue… I heard detectives talking and…, Giles? Watcher, are you nearby?"**

**The Buffybot turned in a 360-degree circle as she attempted to ascertain where her Watcher had disappeared to. When she'd completed her revolution, she stood in indecision with a pronounced frown. "Giles, it was rude of you not to wait for your Slayer. Of course, you are my Watcher so you needn't report to me before you take action. But now I'm not sure what I should do. Giles, are you nearby? I need instruction."**

**The Buffybot continued to stand in the rear of the Sunny Mall, unsure how to proceed. She'd heard detectives stating that the maintenance door was left cracked open. Apparently there was a team of officers waiting for the Public Works personnel to show up so they could begin a search of the area. She wanted to get down there first, but she couldn't just leave without her Watcher. He could be in trouble.**

"**Giles? If you're in trouble, please respond," she said patiently. "Giles, it isn't appropriate for me to stand here while Dawn is in trouble. Therefore, I will count to sixty seconds and then I will proceed with my search plan below the mall, okay? If that isn't satisfactory then please say so now…."**

**She waited for five point eight seconds before saying, "Okay, then. One… two… three…."**

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**Vanessa came in through the front door of the castle, her eyes lighting up in delighted surprise when she found her three minions carrying the red-head and another young lady through the hallway.**

"**Sire! Look at what we have for you," Rachel said excitedly. **

**Behind her, Tammy carried a girl with long blonde hair. Gladys had the other in her arms.**

"**Please tell me they are alive," she questioned.**

"**Oh, yes. We knew you'd wish to see our Grand-sire's reaction to their capture and restraint."**

"**Can we torture them later," Gladys asked.**

"**We need to get this one drugged, Sire. She's not paralyzed yet."**

"**Unfortunate. I'm afraid we're out of juice… its very expensive, you know. Why don't we secure her extra tightly, however? We'll just keep bashing her in the head when she comes round until I'm ready to kill her."**

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"**Oh, no," Dawn whispered as the vampire ladies came into the room with Willow and Tara. She looked desperately over at Spike, but he was still very much unmoving.**

"**Hello, Sire, dear… still not moving, I see," Vanessa smiled. "Well, ****good****! As you can see, I have your little friend now. You know, I didn't expect my vengeance to make me this giddy," she giggled.**

**As Vanessa stood over Spike's staring, motionless eyes the others chained the two witches next to him. He couldn't move his neck to see them, but he heard the chains rattling clearly enough. In his mind, dark anger and violent rage swirled and surged. It helped to keep the fear away. He was in the presence of a vindictive bitch and he was momentarily powerless… who knew what she'd do before he could snap these chains and stop her.**

"**You know," she continued, lowering herself to her knees to meet his frozen stare. "I had ever so many plans for the young girl. Hot pokers… an axe… you know… the classics. But then I had this idea… I mean, I have the others to play with, after all. It occurred to me that you could have bit that juicy teen at any time… and yet you didn't."**

**She smiled predatorily, "And I was asking myself tonight… again… just why you hadn't. What made her so special, Spike, that you haven't preyed on her?**

**Well, it doesn't really matter. Maybe she'll be able to tell me later. Because you see, her fate has already been decided."**

**She stood up and Spike heard her footfalls as she exited his viewpoint. Seconds later, Dawn began to struggle and scream for him. A tear fell down his cheek, but he couldn't feel it.**

**Vanessa appeared again and Spike struggled with everything he had to move, for Dawn was struggling in her grip and pleading with her not to do something. Her tears were more than he could stand hearing, but it was worse when his sired shoved her to the floor, crouched behind her. He could see Dawn's desperation… smell the sourness of her terror. He tried… he tried so hard, but the paralysis that held him only allowed his vocal chords to make the weakest of grunts… his body remained stubbornly immobile.**

"**Watch this," Vanessa whispered loudly to him, as if he had any choice.**

**He grunted only slightly louder as he struggled to prevent her from closing on Dawn's neck. And then it was too late; she bit down, causing a cry of pain from his 'Bit. There was an agonized cry and then an accepting sigh as Dawn's struggles grew still and she grew ever more white.**

_**I'll kill you! I'll kill you, you fucking bitch,**_** he helplessly raged as his heart shattered into more pieces than even Buffy's death had caused. **

"**Oh, don't cry, Sire. The brunette isn't quite as gone as all that," Vanessa smiled again as she ripped a tear in her wrist. Pressing the bloody gash to Dawn's lips she tipped her head back and allowed the red liquid to flow down her throat.**

"**Now you don't need to worry about turning her or not. She belongs to me. I wonder… just how much more will it hurt when she's the one to kill you," Vanessa smiled widely.**

**In his mind, Spike screamed in despair and hatred while his anguish remained locked behind his paralyzed vocal chords.**

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End Chapter 27


	28. Hyena to the Rescue

**Rebuilding**

Ch 28 – Hyena to the Rescue

**Xander sneezed. Not just an 'ah-choo' type of sneeze, but a full-on, face-exploding, throat-rasping sneeze.**

_**Oh, yes… please do that again. I don't think the monsters on the other end of town heard us.**_

"**Like I meant to do that," Xander said angrily. "Can I help it if my nose doesn't like something in this passage," he sniffled while fighting the urge to wipe his nose on his sleeve.**

_**Well, you've completely ruined my sense of smell now. **_

"**Wish I had a hanky," he said to no one in particular. Especially not Hyena; she'd begun to piss him off by running through pros and cons of bothering with a rescue of Dawn. He was pretty sure she was only doing it to irk him since he'd already agreed not to drink Tara's 'get-rid-of-bothersome-personalities' potion.**

_**Block one nostril and blow. Block the other and repeat. Just lean forward so the snot goes into the dirt.**_

_**That is really gross, **_**he thought. **_**Any idea where the hell we are?**_

_**I think so. I believe we're approaching the Northwestern corner of town. Hmm… we might be below McGoon's Park.**_

"**Really?! Oh, my god… I know where they are! Quick, find us a way out of here," Xander yelled.**

_**Why, what the hell… oh I see! Dracula's castle! Of course!**_

**Xander grabbed his cell phone and found the on button, even in the darkness. When the face lit up however, it informed him he had no signal.**

"**Damn it. We need to get above ground so I can call the others," he said.**

_**Okay, okay… give me a minute. I'm detecting fresh air coming from somewhere close by.**_

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**The Buffy robot managed to get into the maintenance tunnel ahead of the police. She'd found a fissure in the ceramic tile and concrete wall on the other side of which, was a tunnel. It didn't surprise her. The entire town seemed to sit on tunnels… dangerous and illogical, really. With her visual acuity, she needed no lights and made rapid progress along the route. When it branched, she used her pheromone detectors behind her nose to pick up traces of human. While Dawn's were too weak for her to rely on catching after this many hours, Xander's were easily detectable to her equipment. His presence down here did surprise her, but she smiled with the thought that he too was somehow on her sister's trail.**

**She only wished that she knew where her Watcher had gone. She should ask Giles to provide a cell phone for her or some other form of communications upgrade. She would talk to him or Willow about it the next chance she had.**

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**The woman had her head face first in her pillow, which she was crying into. She was on her hands and knees, one arm being twisted and held high behind her back. She was terrified.**

**Ripper had charmed her right out of her knickers, the little slut. She'd really thought that she was too hot to handle until they made their way through the conventional positions. That was when he decided to add some spice to the encounter and push the envelope a bit. The other women he'd been with had quickly acquiesced, but this one was more reluctant. Still, he'd managed to smile and caress and seduce her into what he wanted. She just hadn't realized how rough, rough was. Well, she was finding out now and her pleading not to hurt her had him laughing at her.**

"**Relax and enjoy it," he told her. "I'm not going to hurt you… much."**

_**Oh, god… oh god, he's crazy, **_**Susan repeated in her mind. She tried not to yell or make him angry, but her hot night of no-strings-attached sex had gone horribly wrong and she couldn't stop from crying as he continued to plow into her roughly. **

_**Please, God! Please, I just wanted to get over Artie… I didn't want this… not this. Please, don't let him kill me! I'll do anything… please, please, **_**her tears came harder into her pillow. He'd made her bury her face in it when she'd started to yell at him to quit hurting her.**

**The man she'd thought was charming grunted like an animal and let out a howl as he spent himself. He collapsed on top of her and she buckled under his weight, being driven flat onto the bed. It was hard to breathe because of the pillow, but she was so terrified of making too much noise for him with her crying that she kept her face where he'd wanted it only turning it occasionally enough to get a breath of cool air.**

"**My Lord, Susan, that was good," Ripper complimented the stupid bint, but she was still bawling like a bloody virgin after her first time. "Oh, stop it you silly cow. You're perfectly alright… I've even let go of your bloody arm."**

"**Please… I won't tell anyone… please don't hurt me."**

"**What? Don't be daft! Why would I hurt you? And what exactly aren't you going to tell? That you picked up a complete stranger, shagged him silly and then burst into a bawling baby when it was over?"**

**Susan lay still, crying even harder.**

"**Now, look…," he said, clearly irritated. "What is with the silly water works? It was all in fun, yes? No need to go overboard with the water works just because things got a bit kinky."**

**Susan risked turning her head and saw him pulling on his clothes. She suddenly had hope that he really wasn't going to kill her after all. She flinched as he approached the bed while getting his shirt on, but he only patted her back.**

"**Oh… oh, you really were afraid! Good Lord," he said in a stricken tone, "I really didn't realize how upset and afraid you were becoming, dear. I-I truly thought that you were role-playing. I-I am so, so very sorry. If I had known… if I had only suspected, I would have stopped it immediately!"**

**Of course, he thought no such thing. But he knew that a woman suffering remorse after she'd debased herself could make even the most consensual encounter seem like something worse and more unsavory. **(1)

"**You really hurt my arm," she whimpered. "I thought… I thought you'd gone crazy!"**

"**Lord… this has never happened to me. I-I-I thought… oh Lord. Of course, you should call the police. I-I didn't mean to scare you, but that can be no excuse." It was another load of manure of course. Her fear only made the sex that much better. He should have done this ages ago. And, naturally, she wasn't going to call the police or anyone else.**

"**I-I'll just go," he informed her as she wiped at her face. "I am so sorry that I misunderstood how far you wished to take the game."**

"**Y-you just… I just wasn't expecting…."**

"**No need to explain. I am so utterly embarrassed. I should have taken the time to explain the game… to insure that you were ready to play."**

**She sat, sheet pulled up to her chin, clearly confused about what had happened. Just as he knew she would be if he used that disarming stutter of his, "L-let me start a kettle boiling for tea for you before I go."**

**As he puttered with filling the kettle she had sitting on the stove, he began to chant in Turkish. He surreptitiously watched as she calmed considerably. Her breath evened out and her eyelids drooped. In minutes, she had scooted down under the sheet and began to breathe in deep, regular breaths.**

**He smiled and placed the half-full kettle back on the stove without turning on a burner. Creeping up to where she now peacefully lay, he placed a palm on her forehead. Another dark incantation took any memory of his face and voice and smell and feel from her mind, while keeping the essential details in her memory. Should he wish another go round with her, all he had to do was re-introduce himself and say a certain Turkish word. If he didn't, she would never remember who he was and ergo, even if she wished to report this incident which was doubtful, she would have no details of the man that had terrified her so.**

**With a chuckle, he left her place and drove home. He needed a shower before he went back on Dawn-search.**

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**Xander kicked at a rusted grate in a hillside and went tumbling out into the night. The park around him was deathly still, as he would expect unless the vampires enjoyed picnics under the cloudy skies. In the distance, the abandoned Bed and Breakfast where he'd led Buffy to his master sat dark and imposing. A violent shiver went up his spine, shaking his frame.**

_**It's okay. He's dead. He can't hurt you or anyone else anymore, **_**Hyena said flatly.**

_**You're so full of sympathy…, **_**he thought sarcastically.**

_**Sympathy is for the weak. Now let's get up there and figure out what to do next.**_

"**Just a minute," Xander whispered to her, "Let me try their phones."**

**He dialed Giles' cell first, but it rang six times and then a voice mail requested he leave a message. He thought about it, but he didn't think that Giles even knew how to work the voice mail feature so disconnected without saying anything. **

_**He's probably not getting service, **_**Hyena suggested. **_**If he went to the mall, then he probably figured out the tunnels under it like we did.**_

"**Yeah. That's not much help right now though," he muttered as he listened to Willow's cell phone ring.**

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"**Of course, your little brunette will sleep a bit longer than my new beauty," Vanessa was saying to Spike. "But when she does come around, I know she's going to love seeing you… just before she starts eating your eyes."**

**From Willow's paralyzed form came the jangling tones of "Barracuda" by Heart. The vampire women all looked puzzled for a moment before Rachel spoke up, "It's her cell phone. It's the ring tone."**

"**Of course! I knew that," Vanessa hissed irritably, causing the other vamps to shrink back. She strolled over to Willow and began going through her jacket pockets. **

**Willow tried to frown menacingly, but her face felt like it was full of Botox and her forehead refused to crease, her mouth's frown lines remained frustratingly un-frowned. Even her ducts were too numbed right now to cry and that was worse than anything else because they'd lost Buffy and now they'd failed to keep Dawn safe as well. They were all just a group of pathetic failures. **

_**What made me think I could fix things? What made me think I could help Buffy or anyone else, **_**she sobbed inside, though nothing of what she was going through showed on her facial features.**

**Spike's creation held her cell phone up in front of her eyes and then squeezed. The casing of the phone easily cracked and splintered before the entire device was crushed.**

"**There will be no help for you!"**

**A moment later and Tara's began to ring. She had a normal tone and Vanessa immediately tore through Tara's pockets looking for the slim tool. The blonde remained unconscious, not stirring a bit as her pockets were ripped open by Vanessa. When she found it, she stepped on it fiercely, sending plastic scattering across the stone floor.**

"**There may be more of my Sire's little band. I want you girls searching the perimeter. Go!"**

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_**I smell Tara and Willow… and blood, **_**Hyena calmly stated. **

**Xander closed his eyes and yes, he could detect the very weak scent of iron in the air. **_**Are you sure? How can you tell… who's is it?**_

_**Willow's**_**, his animal spirit immediately answered. **_**Two feet in front of you and to the left.**_

**He walked in the direction that Hyena directed him, using the lighter to cast a bit of illumination while tightening his grip on a stake pulled from his back pocket. **_**There's not a lot, **_**he thought in order to avoid the noise of talking. **_**I-I don't think she was badly hurt.**_

_**Whatever. We need to locate Spike.**_

_**We **__**need**__** to locate all of them. I'm heading upstairs.**_

_**Be careful… the dusty smell of vamps is thick, **_**she warned.**

**He began to creep up the stone steps to the first floor. The same floor that Riley had punched him out on when he'd tried to stop him and Giles from helping Buffy.**

_**Don't get distracted by the past. I don't want to find out what will happen to me if you get your stupid ass turned.**_

_**Thanks for your concern**_**, he thought facetiously.**

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**Ripper returned to the mall, but it was shut up tightly. There were a few police cars still in the lot, but most of them had cleared out. He frowned as he looked behind the building for the robot.**

_**Now, where the hell is that wind-up doll? I hope she didn't get herself nabbed while I was busy.**_

**He made a circuit of the building but didn't see the Buffybot. He was just deciding on his next move when a wave of dizziness struck him. When he removed his hands from his head and steadied himself, a bewildered Giles stood in his place.**

"**Where did everyone go? Hello? Buffy?"**

**Giles stood for a moment in uncertainty before noticing that his hair was damp. Looking upward for rain, he found the sky clouded, but certainly no rain was falling. There was no evidence of it having had recently rained either as he scanned the parking lot. In addition, he could swear his skin smelled of fresh soap, as if he'd just bathed, which was utterly ridiculous.**

"**What the devil," he muttered. He took another quick look at the sky, but still… no rain. He knew that some protection wards could produce such a scent, but they were so unreliable that he hadn't bothered. Shaking off this mystery for the moment, he re-focused on the important matter at hand. There was no way for him to call the Buffy robot… an obvious error on his part. He should have made sure she was given Buffy's unused cell phone; well, the lesson was learned, but he couldn't wait around for her.**

**He dialed Xander.**

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**Buffybot began jogging as her pheromone detectors picked up heavier traces of Xander Harris. He was her best friend and she knew that he would be able to give her instructions on how to proceed to rescue her sister.**

**As she exited through a hole in the ground, she noted her entrance into a small park. She already knew exactly where she was, of course. Her online GPS unit let her know where she was nearly all the time. There were a few spots below ground where she'd had some interference, but this was cleared up now.**

**She used her ocular sensors to detect the movement of a singular humanoid in front of a large stone structure. She focused her aural sensors, but all she picked up was the swish of fabric rubbing against itself and the soft footfalls of the creature. Its lack of body heat on her infrared sensors suggested a vampire and due to its being feminine, it clearly couldn't be Spike. That meant the Slayer had business to perform. She grinned widely, slipping a stake from under her blouse where it'd been taped to her stomach.**

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**Gladys peered out into the darkness wishing there was a little moonlight to make it easier for her night vision. She scented the air, but didn't pick up on anything. Still, she felt some instinct warning her she was being watched from somewhere close by. She considered for a moment calling Rachel and Tammy but discarded the idea. It was important that they cover their own area and besides, what if she called them over here just to find that a cat or opossum was ranging about… she'd be a laughing stock.**

**On the opposite side of the building, Tammy checked the back door to find it secured. She then began to stroll out into the parking lot. She didn't notice or think of the cellar doors, as a strange car had caught her attention.**

**Rachel peered at the skinny blonde who was sneaking through the underbrush in the general direction of her Sire's castle. She could make out Gladys, standing around like a fool. Well… she'd take care of this and then rub the other vampire's face in her failure.**

**Carefully and almost silently she stalked the blonde. She didn't know who the girl was; she matched the description of the Slayer, but her innate demon senses weren't reacting as they should if that was who it actually was. Besides, she recognized her as one of the odd women who was in the same house as the red-head; one of the girls she'd gotten such a confused reading on the first time she'd seen her. Well, obviously she belonged to the same group as Spike's other whatever-they-were-to-him. And just like the others, she was about to be captured like a nice, juicy fly in their web.**

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End Chapter 28

(1) Don't flame me… this isn't the author's view of casual sex or women. It's entirely Ripper's.


	29. A Rescue Too Late

**Rebuilding**

Ch 29 – A Rescue Too Late

**Xander fumbled the phone as it silently buzzed. Seeing that it was Giles' number dialing him, he found an empty closet and ducked inside.**

"**Giles," he whispered. "Where the heck have you been!?"**

"**I-I'm still at the mall… and I'm very close to being by myself. Where are you?"**

"**Dracula's favorite vacation spot. You need to get over here!"**

"**The castle?"**

"**You got it. Listen… I'm inside on the first floor. I've seen at least three vamps who are patrolling outside right now. No sign of Dawn, but I'm pretty sure she's upstairs."**

"**Alright, I'm on my way. I'm afraid I've lost track of the Buffybot. She's in the mall somewhere, hopefully not being detained."**

"**Swell," Xander grumped. "Listen, Giles… I can't get a hold of Wills or Tara. See if you can?"**

"**Fine, but Xander… be very, very careful. Stay out of sight until I can join you," Giles rang off. He jumped into his car and a moment later was racing from the mall lot. He considered calling Lt. Stein, but realized he'd only put the man at risk. **

**It was still better if the gang dealt with the demons.**

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**Buffybot strolled with confidence (assuming a robot could be said to have such a trait) toward the front entrance. From behind her she detected aurally the approach of an attacking demon. A split moment before she was tackled from behind, she turned on her heel with inhuman speed. Reaching a hand out, she found a dangling female vampire in her fist, a shocked look on the creature's face. It only took a quick jab for her to be reduced to dust.**

**Spinning again, she was just slightly too slow to nail the other vampire who'd raced from in front of the main entrance. The stake struck her in the side of the chest, but failed to penetrate the heart.**

"**Ow! You bitch, that hurt," Gladys screeched. "And you hurt Rachel!"**

"**Correction," Buffybot said gaily as she flipped Gladys over her hip and sent her rolling to the ground, "I dusted Rachel."**

**Gladys gave an angry hiss. "You're so lucky we ran out of paralyzing juice. But you're still going to die slowly by my mistress' hands!"**

"**Blah-blah. You bad guys sure do talk a lot," the robot responded using one of Willow's pre-scripted 'BANTER' responses.**

**The vampire growled deep in her throat and then launched herself at the skinny girl. She threw two punches and a kick at her, but the other woman managed to block them all with ease. Before she could back away though, the girl jumped on top of her and sent both of them rolling down a small hill back into the park.**

"**You're getting my clothes dirty and Tara is going to be disappointed in me!"**

"**Well, you've gotten grass in my hair," the vampire counter-complained as she wrestled with the powerful woman. She was far stronger than she looked and Gladys began to fear that she was fighting the Slayer.**

**She never had the chance to ask the identity of the blonde. She felt the harsh pain of wood through skin and then there was a strong sensation of vertigo. Before she really realized what had happened to her, she had the overpowering sensation of being pulled away somewhere.**

**Buffybot stood up and dusted at her clothing as well as she could.**

"**I hope that Tara will understand that I wasn't in control of getting my clothing messy," she said. **

**And then she jogged toward the front entrance again. When she reached the front doorway, she gave a solid push and the doors slammed open against the inside walls.**

"**Vampires, beware," she yelled out. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer has arrived!"**

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**In the closet, Xander heard the voice of the robot announcing her presence.**

_**Brilliant, **_**Hyena complained. **_**Did anyone think to program 'subterfuge' into that thing.**_

_**At least she's here, **_**Xan thought back as he opened the door. He was just in time to see the Buffybot rush up the stairs, calling out for the vampires to come out and meet their destiny.**

_**She's definitely no Slayer.**_

"**No," Xan whispered with sadness, "No, it isn't… but it's the closest we got."**

_**Sorry… didn't mean to open that wound.**_

**Xan reacted with surprise, **_**You're apologizing? Color me surprised, that's for sure.**_

_**Don't get used to it… let's get up there and help out.**_

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**Buffybot rushed up the stairway, all but leaping into the crowded room where she saw her friends and Spike(!) being kept. A second later she was being bounced off of a wall as Vanessa barreled into her.**

**Her head was being violently battered against a wall, plaster flying in shards around the two combatants. She was relatively unphased, though she was worried that her synthetic covering might tear.**

**Swinging her arm around her, she felt it caught by the vampire and she was suddenly airborne as it swung her clear over a large dining table in the middle of the room. She hit the floor, going into a roll and hopped up as the vamp… a lady with a full mane of red hair… ran around the table after her in full vamp face.**

**Vanessa was caught by the Slayer, for the girl was much too strong not to be her, by the arm. Using her own momentum against her, she felt herself slammed into another wall, exactly as she had just done to the runt. Kicking backward, she felt the satisfaction of solidly hitting the young woman and sending her back before she could get within striking distance with the stake that the vampire had already noted.**

**Spinning, she glared at the girl, "No! This is my night… this is my vengeance!"**

**The robot had nothing to say to that and instead made the four foot jump to tackle the vampire to the floor. She found it difficult to get her stake in position, however, as the woman seemed unusually limber.**

"**Hold still," Buffybot tried to insist, "I need to stake you!"**

"**I'll drain you dry, you little fool!"**

"**Not if… uh… I can get this stake in place!"**

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**Xander came up the stairs cautiously as the sounds of bodies hitting hard objects rang down the stairwell. When he'd made it to the top, Hyena immediately zeroed in on Spike, letting out a mental sigh that he was alright. **

_**Spike must have tracked Dawn here as well. **_

"**Speaking of which," Xan said in a subdued voice. **_**She's on that table next to that other girl.**_

_**Duck!**_

**Without bothering to question her, he went into an immediate crouch and felt her nearly merge with his movement. Even before he realized what 'they' were doing, he was rolled underneath the table, just in time to avoid a heavy robot body hitting where he'd just been.**

_**We need to free Spike and get out of here!**_

_**We're not leaving without the others,**_** Xan yelled in his head.**

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**Tara came awake with a start at the sounds of fighting far too close by. For a second she was disoriented and her jaw hurt when she moaned. Then she remembered… there were vampires and her and Will had run into trouble.**

**She quickly glanced at the noise around her to find the Buffybot lying on the floor. Standing over her was a woman vampire kicking her in the ribs. Even as Tara turned her head this way and that to check on the others, another vampire (Tammy) came up the stairs and shouted what sounded like Vanessa. The second vampire was sent after a form crawling out from under the table and Tara realized that Xander had come to the rescue.**

"**Willow, are you alright," she said desperately, but Will didn't respond.**

**She tried Spike next, but with the same result. It was only then that she remembered that Will had been hit with an arrow or something that had been covered in some type of slime. They were obviously still under whatever effect it had.**

"**Solvo," she whispered, concentrating on her binding cuffs. Immediately the iron dissolved into rust, showering her in red particles. **

_**You could have just opened them, **_**she thought as she crouched over to Spike… nearer to her then Willow and not blocked by the fighting robot and Vanessa. Again she uttered the same command and he was soon free, though all that got her was a vampire with his arms no longer raised. He remained unresponsive.**

**She took a quick glance at Willow, but the Buffybot had the Vanessa vampire right in front of her and was beating on her face. She wouldn't be able to get to her.**

**Instead she rushed in Xander's direction on the other side of the table to help him out. **

**It wasn't necessary. Somehow, he'd grabbed a hold of the vampire's arms and fell backward. As she tumbled onto him, he used his bent legs and upturned feet to propel her over his head and into a wall.**

**As she recovered, he threw himself into her back both shoving her against the wall and at the same time driving a stake into her back. Backing away, he watched her and the stake turn to dust.**

**Tara gave him a relieved smile and with a quick glance ran to the table to check Dawn. It was only then that she saw the two clear holes in the side of her neck.**

"**Goddess… no," she gasped.**

**On the other side of the room, Buffybot snapped Vanessa's neck sending the vampire helplessly to the floor. She retrieved the stake that had been dropped during her collision with the floor and a moment later, Vanessa was done for.**

"**No one beats the Vampire Slayer," she grinned maniacally. "Hi, Willow! You're my best friend," she smiled at the girl who was still trussed up. "I will free you."**

**Buffybot snapped the chains and watched as her friend fell to the floor. "Oops. You were supposed to use your skeletal structure and muscular contraction to remain upright."**

**Behind her, she heard movement and spun around only to issue another excited grin, "Hello, Watcher! The Slayer has saved the day!"**

"**S-sorry I'm late," Giles said before coming to a shocked stop. "Tara?"**

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**A fight was going on across the room from her, but it may as well have been in another county. Tara's focus was on Dawn and the two bite marks. With shaking fingers she reached out to touch the young girl's skin, jumping as Xander came up beside her.**

"**Oh, god… no… please, not this," he said.**

**Tara didn't respond, instead focusing on forcing her shaking fingers to feel for a pulse against the far too cool skin. A moment later and she broke into gasping tears and felt Xander throw his arms around her. It did nothing to relieve her sudden pain.**

"**Tara," she heard Giles' voice.**

**She met his eyes, but only long enough to shake her head. One hand was still resting on Dawn's cool forehead, while the other squeezed Xander's. She could feel Xander shaking in suppressed sobs as he too already knew what she'd found. Dawn was clearly no longer with them.**

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End Chapter 29


	30. Miracles Happen Every Day

**Rebuilding**

Chapter 30 – Miracles Happen Every Day

**It took nearly half an hour for Giles to come up with the correct incantation to drive the toxin from Willow and Spike. When he'd managed to free them, the first thing Willow had done was throw herself into Tara's arms and cried fiercely.**

**Spike had walked as if in a daze to a bench and sat heavily. His hands took Dawn's left as if it were made of the most delicate of materials. There were no tears but the utter look of defeat on his face spoke volumes to all present, especially Hyena and Xander.**

**Xan had put his arms around Spike's shoulder's, his hands grasped at his chest from behind and sobbed onto his shoulder.**

"**My fault… my fault," the vampire chanted.**

"**Dawn, it's time to wake up now and go," Buffybot said cheerily.**

"**Buffybot…." Willow started by was interrupted by Spike.**

"… **She's dead, you stupid bint. She's not waking up… at least… not as she was."**

"**Spike, you're not suggesting…." Giles said.**

"… **She's turned, Rupes. Just to spite me, Vanessa fed her."**

"**W-well… that's, uh, good then."**

**To the shocked stares in her direction, Willow reddened, but quickly clarified, "I mean… we can bring her back, right? W-we just need an Orb of Thesulah."**

"**Creating another Angel?!" Spike sounded incredulous.**

"**S-Spike is right," Giles said quietly. "Angel's condition is a curse. It's not to be used lightly."**

"**B-but we can't just stake her," Tara cried. "We can't just… I mean… she can still be Dawn with Willow's plan!"**

"**I gotta go with the girls on this one," Xander said, swiping at his eyes. "At least she'll be with us and Angel has learned to make due. Hell, we can even get to her before she has to live with slaughtering innocents."**

"**But she'll also never be truly happy again," Giles pointed out. "There's no way to modify the original curse without a far greater understanding of the magic that was lost even before Jenny's murder."**

"**She can be happy enough," Willow insisted. "She'll just be… you know… a girl with powers and, okay, there's the blood thing, but Spike makes due."**

"**I don't know…," Giles said doubtfully.**

"**No one is staking her," Spike slammed a fist on the table making them all jump. "I'll take care of her… look after her and keep her from hurting anyone. Willow, ready the curse. We can find another way to migrate her soul or something without being cursed later."**

"**Spike…," Giles said.**

"… **No! No, Rupert. Please…," Spike said with such pleading that Giles was shocked into silence. He'd never seen Spike acting like this. "This is my fault… we lost Buffy… not her, too."**

"**It's not your fault, Spike," Willow said, suddenly turning on Giles with furious anger. "Where the hell were you?! We called… we tried to get you here to help and your fucking cell phone was off!"**

"**Will," Tara yelled, shocked.**

"**No! He didn't even bother picking up! You could have gotten here in time to help us! And you, Xander! Where the hell were you, too!?"**

"**Don't yell at us! We were underground tracking Dawn down! This ain't our fault!"**

'_**Our fault', **_**thought Spike, even as he shot to his feet to glare at Willow in full vamp face. "You watch how you're talking to my boy! You were the one who got herself nabbed!"**

"**Well, so did you! And you're the reason that stupid, blood sucking bitch was here to begin with," Willow raged.**

"**STOP IT!" **

**Everyone looked at Giles who was shaking with emotion, "We will not turn on each other again! Is that clear?"**

**There were several heartbeats of silence in which no one agreed or disagreed. Finally he added, "Now let's take our little girl home."**

"**What about the other girl," Tara asked in a near whisper.**

"**It seems wrong not to try to save her, too," Xander pointed out.**

"**I don't give two shits about the sow," Spike spat. "Dawn is the only one that matters."**

"**A-and I don't know if we can get one Thesulan Orb, never mind two."**

"**Well, she's not a vampire yet. We can't just… I mean…," Xander struggled with what to say.**

"**I can wait here," Buffybot spoke. "I'll turn her to dust when she wakes up. And then I'll come home to get Dawn ready for school," she smiled.**

"**Y-yes… well… We'll speak of that later," Giles told her. "In the meantime, you are acting as the Slayer. Carry on."**

"**This seems really unfair, Giles," Xander said. "It feels wrong."**

"**Not dusting Dawn is what is wrong," Giles said, ignoring the plainly heard snarl of Spike's. "But she's family. Family is always different. It's a fact of human existence that we'll do for family what we wouldn't do for complete strangers. And though what you are saying is right, I can make myself comfortable with treating Dawn differently."**

"**I-I guess," Xan reluctantly agreed.**

_**And imagine the help that another vampire will be to the pack, **_**Hyena thought at him. **_**Finally, Dawn is going to be worth something to have around!**_

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**As the sun came up over town, Spike sat on the floor near Dawn's bed. The shade was drawn against the hurtful rays of the day and his eyes remained fixed and immovable on her still shape under the blanket. She was so small… so fragile… and she was another one of his failures.**

**Willow and Tara were in their bedroom, both on their individual laptops as they scoured the net for an Orb. Giles was talking into a telephone in the hallway, speaking to the school and explaining that Dawn had the flu and they would provide a doctor's note when she returned. Of course, they'd have to report that she had died in order to forestall an investigation when she never went back, but Giles would need the Council to officially arrange the paperwork on something that complicated.**

**Xander sat front pressed to Spike's back, enfolding him in mortal warmth that today seemed unable to penetrate to the ice block in which he found himself seemingly encased.**

"**I love you," Xander whispered against his neck.**

"**You shouldn't. I don't think we're going to work," he returned.**

"**You don't mean that."**

"**Xander… I'm only hurting everyone here. I should have left a long time ago. I've got a lot of enemies. Vanessa was only the first and look at what she's done just to get to me."**

"**We all have enemies. We always will. If we didn't accept that, we would have quit when Buffy made her jump."**

"**You all can quit now. I'll take Dawn, if they can't track down one of these Orbs. We'll find somewhere out of the way. I'll keep her from hurting anyone. If they can… well, I'm used to traveling fast and light, anyway."**

"**You're not leaving us."**

"**Us?"**

"**Me, the gang, Dawn. You'll stay."**

"**Why," Spike asked.**

"**Because family is the only thing that let's us keep our sanity when the really horrible stuff happens to us. You think we're all not ready to hari-kari ourselves over this? You think you're the only one feeling guilt and knowing how much we've let Buffy down? At least with her soul, she'll still be with us."**

"**It's not that simple and you know that. Angel isn't the human being he was. Dawn won't be either… she'll be… something else."**

"**I know," Xander nodded into his shoulder. "But I also know that we'll love her anyway. And she'll need us. All of us… together."**

**Spike sighed.**

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**It was somewhere close to ten-thirty that night when the blanket began to stir. The Buffybot had gotten home a little after nine reporting that the other new vampire was dusted. She was currently charging as she'd been on the go for two days and her batteries were drawing from her emergency supply.**

**Now, everyone else was in Dawn's room as what she'd become stirred under the blankets. She let out a huge yawn as she moved the blanket away and sat up, blinking her eyes.**

"**Everyone stand back… let me handle this," Spike said.**

"**AHHH," Dawn issued a startled scream. "What the hel… eck!? What are you all doing in here?! Jeez… scare the crap out of me!"**

"**Okay… now I know you're hungry and confused," Spike said. "But your Sire isn't here, so I need you to listen to me…."**

"**Sire? Uh, Spike… are you okay? And why are you all looking at me like I'm about to grow horns… oh, God! Am I growing something on my face," she quickly reached up and patted at her nose, her cheeks and her head.**

_**She doesn't smell much like a vampire, **_**Hyena thought.**

"**Something's weird here," Spike said. "She's not acting right."**

"**No, I'm acting fine," Dawn said. "You're the ones that are looking at me all goofy. Are you under a group spell?"**

"**Dawnie," Tara asked, but didn't know how to follow it up.**

"**D-dawn? I-is it really you," Willow added.**

"**Okay, you guys are totally freaking me out now. And why am I in my clothes," she said as she pushed the blankets down to reveal her jeans and shirt. Even her shoes were still on her feet.**

"**Don't you remember…?"**

"**Remember what, Xan? What is into you guys?"**

"**D-dawn…," Giles started and then snapped his mouth shut. He tried again, "Dawn… uh… well… that is… you don't recall last night? Being in the abandoned bed and breakfast? The vampires?"**

**By this time, Spike had sat himself next to Dawn on her bed and was using his fingers on the inside of her wrists. "I don't understand this, Rupes. I have a pulse. And she's warm… even for the blanket. This is human warm."**

"**Okay… now what the hell is going on?! I didn't do a Key thing, did I," she said worriedly, her eyes suddenly opened wide with concern. "I didn't do another portal?!"**

"**No… no…," Giles tried, but was coming up blank again.**

"**Care to explain this Big G," Xander said, a growing smile on his face. For whatever reason, Dawn wasn't dead and he was finally just realizing that she wasn't demonized either. He was suddenly feeling giddy with relief.**

"**Dawn, you were dead," Spike said in that completely blunt manner he had.**

_**Actually, I'm wondering just how much time he spent with Cordelia while she was in town,**_** Xander suddenly giggled to himself. **_**Oh, yeah… I'm definitely giddy.**_

**Next to him, Tara also broke out into her first smile. "I-I… wow… I mean… I mean this is great! This is… this is a miracle-type of great!"**

"**D-dead? I was…," Dawn stuttered out.**

"**And you should be a vamp right now," Spike said with suspicion and awe conflicting in his tone. "I saw it… worst moment of my life, including… including ****that**** night. Hey, Rupes… were you going to jump in with an explanation?"**

"**Well… clearly there's something, uh, very mystical taking place h-here."**

**Spike's reaction to this profound statement was a deadpan look in the Watcher's direction. He didn't need to say, 'well, duh!'**

"**Me as a vampire? Ohmygod! I think I remember something! Um… there was a vampire with long red hair. I remember now… she had me in the bed and breakfast like you guys said. But I don't remember anything after worrying about Spike. You weren't moving."**

"**She bit you right in front of me, Bit. And I watched her feed you her blood. You're supposed to be a fang-filled demoness right about now," Spike told her, though as gently as he knew how.**

"**Holy shi… oot. So, wait… why am I not feeling like ripping out your throats?"**

"**And back to the Watcher…," Spike smirked.**

"**I honestly haven't the faintest. Obviously there is something different about Dawn's make up… something that allowed her to recover from her blood loss and being infected by a vampire's blood." Giles wore a thoughtful look on his face, but said no more.**

"**Oh, wow! Does this mean I'm like, immortal?! 'Cause that would be way cool! Ooh, do you think I'll get super-powers, too!? Oh, I want to know how to fly! And be, like, Supergirl!"**

"**L-let's not lose our head," Giles interrupted Dawn's fantasizing. "We don't know what this means. And being immune to being changed into a vampire doesn't necessarily mean you're immune to injuries. In fact, the fact that you could be bitten indicates otherwise."**

"**Not to mention, Glory's minions could cut you," Willow added.**

"**Exactly right," Giles continued. "In fact, you may be very fortunate that she did feed you her blood to turn you. Who knows if you would have regenerated your own blood after dying."**

"**Okay, okay… it wasn't like I was about to throw myself in front a train or anything to test it. Right now, though… I'm really hungry. Can we order a pizza?"**

"**You can have a sandwich," Xander said.**

"**Something light," Tara added, "Just to make sure you're not going to barf it up."**

**In the meantime, Willow was nearly shaking with excitement as something which hadn't occurred to Tara did her. **

_**Dawn came back from the dead! Her Key energy must have been involved… if we can tap it… if we can introduce it to Buffy's body….**_

**As everyone kept asking if Dawn was sure she was alright and either laughing and hugging with relief or continuing to ask how this could have happened, Willow's thoughts were quickly dominated by a new plan to save Buffy; a plan that got around how to put Buff back into her body when it wasn't exactly in moving-in shape right now. She'd sort of been glossing over that problem in her mind since it wasn't important until she knew how to get her out of Hell… now she was wondering if she had just stumbled on how to kill two birds with one mystical stone.**

"**Ooh, and after dying and everything, I think I deserve a bowl of ice cream, too," Dawn was saying.**

**The gang continued to act relieved and astounded as Willow followed them downstairs. Her focus was entirely inward… exploring and thinking.**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

End Story

**Spanderverse Series**:

_BTVS seasons 1-4._

Spanderverse: After 314

Spanderverse: Spike

Spanderverse: Dracula

Spanderverse: Burial

_BTVS: Real Me_

Spanderverse: Confusion of Three

Preludes

Tensions

Old Friends

Hospital Visits

The Risks of Glory

Hunting Our Needs

The Family We Choose

Falling Apart

Sunnydale Antics

Feints and Counter-Feints

Pathways

_BTVS: The Body_

Coming Together

Songs of Pain and Comfort

Battling with a God

Glory's Moment

Spanderverse: Points of View One

Spanderverse: Points of View Two

Spanderverse: Points of View Three

Spanderverse: Points of View Four

Rebuilding


End file.
